Helga's Game
by PianZoe
Summary: What, does everybody hate this story or something? In this chapter, Arnold and Helga have a fight (what else is new), Gerald and Phoebe plot to get them together, and Helga learns she can do more than just handle her pistol-like ARM.
1. Helga's Acting Very Odd Today

Ok, so, this is a weird fan-fic. I got the idea from... uh... well, I got the obsessed with a game idea from Gerald's Game. Hence the name of the fic, Helga's Game. Course, this has a Ps2 game instead of a card game, and it has a twist to it, that was DEFINITELY not in Gerald's Game. The twist will come in chapter 3, M'kay? Okey Dokey. Oh, and do you notice that both of my fan-fics (not including Memories Gone, Maybe Forever, because I don't want to continue that one) have really weird twists? On Ghost Town, they crash in a Ghost Town with a ghost that wants to kill them, and in this one they get tossed into Wild ARMs 3! Ha haha!

  
  


Disclaimer: how should I say this... hmm... I own the plot, just not either things. Hey Arnold! and all the Wild ARMs things aren't mine. If you know the Wild ARMs things, like 1, 2, 3, Flower Thief, and Twilight Venom, then you know that I do not own them. Well, I have never actually seen Flower Thief or Twilight Venom, but I've heard of them! Plus, if I did own Hey Arnold and Wild ARMs (all of the Wild ARMs things, that is) the means that I would have a Lila on Hey Arnold, Wild ARMs Twilight Venom, AND Wild ARMs 1, and that I would have a Helga on Hey Arnold and on Wild ARMs 3! Ok, I'm very talkative, unlike Helga and Jet, who is from number 3...

  
  


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It was another completely ordinary day. Nothing new, except for maybe the new character Arnold's grandma was. Today she was an Indian Princess, all dressed up in feathers and porcupine quills and skins. Arnold had barely escaped having to eat this weird food that he couldn't pronounce, or even hardly look at, without gagging. He had then scrambled out the door onto the bus, thankful that he didn't have to eat that horrible stuff. He and Gerald had talked about the baseball game at Gerald Field for a while, and that's where we are right now.

  
  


"So, does that sound like a good play?" Arnold asked, and Gerald, of course, nodded his head. Then he turned around, to face Helga, who was behind them, to talk about the same thing to her, since she was on the team. "Hey Helga," Arnold started, trying to get Helga's attention. Once he figured that he had her full attention (but she hadn't even acknowledged him yet), he recited his whole idea. "So, does that sound good? Helga? Helga... have you been listening to what I've been saying?" he asked, but Helga proceeded to stay silent, and stare out her window. He snapped his fingers, making her jump, and look at him finally.

  
  
  
  


"Oh, did you say something, football head?" she asked, and Arnold rolled his eyes, making Helga scowl. "What?" he repeated his plan again, and Helga looked back out the window. "That's cool football head, but I, uh, gotta do something after school today." Arnold gave her a confused look, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. She rolled her eyes, and sighed. "I know what you're thinking, and why do you want to know?"

  
  


"Because you NEVER miss our baseball games," he stated, and Helga snorted, rolling her eyes once again.

  
  


"What kind of answer is that? I have missed them before, if you could just remember." she spat, and continued watching out the window. Arnold sighed an aggravated sigh, and rolled his eyes, not understanding his personal tormentor one single ounce.

  
  


"Helga, why can't you just tell me why you can't come to the game tonight? If you're going somewhere on a vacation or something like that." he tried getting her to tell him, but she just gave him the 'you-never-give-up-do-you?' look. They waited for a few minutes, each waiting for the other to say something. To the other kids, it looked like as if they were having a staring contest.

  
  


Helga sighed, and looked to the other side, not out the window this time. "None of your beeswax, Arnoldo," she said, trying to get him to back off. After a few minutes of looking to that side, she looked back towards Arnold and Gerald to find Arnold looking back at her with a scowl. "What?" she asked, getting more aggravated as the conversation wore on. Arnold sighed, turned around, and plopped down on his seat again. Helga rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Oh brother."

  
  


*****

  
  


Later that day, during recess, Arnold had noticed that Helga was being even weirder than before. Actually, he hadn't really seen her since class, and it was almost halfway through recess. She hadn't been with Phoebe, and Phoebe didn't know where she was. Arnold was beginning to worry. What if something had happened to her? Or what if she skipped school? Maybe she had a friend that was in high school and she was skipping school and that friend was just using her! He shook that thought out of his mind, and smiled to himself. Sometimes he could really freak himself out, and he didn't like it when he did it, 'cause it was just weird.

  
  


He walked around for a while, glancing about him, trying to find Helga. She was no where to be found! Well, at least in the areas he had searched. He had almost given up, when finally he heard a familiar voice shout, "WHAT?!" he quickly spun his head around to where the sudden burst of anger had come from, and saw Helga, sitting on the pavement, with a laptop on her lap. He stared at her, his eyes wide and his mouth agape for at least 5 minutes before he walked over to her. She didn't even acknowledge him. "What are you talking about, it's too hard for ya'?!" she screamed at the laptop, but it obviously didn't do any good.

  
  


"Uh, Helga?" he tried, and when he did, she jumped, slammed the laptop shut, and glared at him. "Are... you... all right?" he asked, uncertain whether he was going to come out of this without a visit with Old Betsy or the Five Avengers. "'Cause... cause you hardly ever just sit by yourself without Phoebe or anyone with you... and... with a laptop." he stated, as Helga stood up, and continued glaring at him with no possible response.

  
  


He waited for a minute...

  
  


Two minutes...

  
  


Three minutes...

  
  


Four minutes...

  
  


He was getting tired of just standing and staring...

  
  


Five minutes...

  
  


And finally, Helga took her laptop and walked away without a single word, leaving Arnold to stare after her. He would never understand her. He sighed, rolled his eyes, turned around on his heel, and walked back to Gerald, who was watching Helga walk towards another bunch, with her laptop tight in hand.

  
  


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Ok, I know that many of you here probably don't know Wild ARMs 3, and probably don't even care to know about it because it's a Playstation2 game, but this has a Gerald/Phoebe Arnold/Helga romance in it! And to those of you who actually do know who the Wild ARMs 3 characters are, it's also a Jet/Virginia romance maybe in later chapters. I don't know, yet. *shrugs*


	2. Oh No, Phoebe and Helga Are Both Obsesse...

Ok, pe... I mean, Serap-89 (since she's most likely the only one reading this), forget the part where I said that the twist is in chapter 3, because it's most likely going to be in either chapter 4 or 5 now. M'kay, Serap? Ok!

  
  


Disclaimer: I own... hmm... lets see, I don't own Hey Arnold!, or Wild ARMs 3, but I own half of Cousins, Serap's cartoon that she's trying to make. ^_^

  
  


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Helga stepped into her house, smiling wide. She took a glance around, then yelled out, "MIRIAM! BOB! I'M HOME! NOT LIKE YOU CARE!" then she waited for the usual response to her shouts (a "That's nice honey," from Miriam, and a "Pipe down Olga, I'm trying to watch my new beeper commercial!!" from Bob). She then nodded her head once, and quickly rushed up the stairs to her room. She whooshed inside her room, and slammed her back up against the door in an obvious sneaky maneuver. She glanced around the room, her eyes slits and her mouth in a closed O, making sure that no one could hear her, though she didn't know why she didn't want anyone to hear, she just... didn't.

  
  


She stood up, turned around and locked the door, then turned around and walked over to the window. She closed it, making sure it was latched, and then turned to the tv she had bought herself because she couldn't stand having to let Bob take the tv when she was in the middle of watching Wrestle Mania any more. When she bought the tv and VCR, she realized that she still had about 400 dollars left (she had convinced Bob to lend her the money after telling him it was for a tv so she wouldn't have to 'interrupt' HIS shows), and she had told him that she wouldn't have any money left. So, she bought herself a Playstation2, and a game to go along with it. Wild ARMs 3 was the game.

  
  


She walked over to it, turned it on, then turned on the Ps2, all ready to play. She sat down on her bean bag chair that she had found in the attic a while ago when she put her newest Arnold shrine up in the attic. Then she grabbed the controller, and waited until the starting screen came up, so she could press start. She loaded her old game, and listened to the song that played before it, singing along surprisingly well.

  
  


"A change in time 

I finally made up my mind 

I raise my hand from beneath the shifting sand 

And embrace the winds of change 

  
  


Suddenly, everything is up to me 

The pages turn, flashing full of memories 

I can see all too clear 

The time has come to face my fear 

  
  


And there's a fire burning in my heart 

Just shine when all is torn apart 

And I will make it through this desert storm 

Safe and warm 

  
  


My shield is strong 

I'll take my chances here and now 

Bring on the fight 

I'll find a way to win somehow 

No, tomorrow's no regret

I'll risk it all for this brand new day."

  
  


As soon as the song was finished, the game began, and just as Helga pushed the forward button, the phone rang. She growled, pressed the Triangle button (in other words, she paused it), muted the tv, and rushed over to the phone. "What do ya' want?!" she asked, after she had picked it up and held it to her ear.

  
  


"He-hello, He-Helga," she heard Phoebe's timid voice answer her annoyed sounding question. She sighed, and calmed down so she wouldn't cause her best friend to have a heart attack.

  
  


"Hey Pheebs. What're you doing?" she asked.

  
  


"I was just calling to see if you were alright. I mean, I hardly saw you today because you were always on your laptop." Helga sighed, and shook head, smiling.

  
  


"Yes, I'm fine Pheebs. Just... distracted. Ok?"

  
  


"Yes, fine, but, what had you so preoccupied that you couldn't spend time with your best friend?"

  
  


"... Well... if I told you, you'd think I was stupid."

  
  


"No I wouldn't Helga. I would never think that you're stupid. That's just absurd!"

  
  
  
  


"Ok, fine then. Come over here, and I'll show you."

  
  


*****

  
  


The next day on the bus, Phoebe and Helga were both sitting in their usual place, impatient for something. Arnold looked over the seat at them, obviously confused. 'Well this is just... strange. First Helga, now Helga AND Phoebe! What could it be that is so interesting?' he thought, his face pretty scrunched up from trying to figure out an explanation. He couldn't find one.

  
  


The bus dropped the children off at the school, and the day officially began, once again. The day proceeded as normal, except the fact that Helga and Phoebe both seemed to be extremely distracted, which was very strange for Phoebe. Arnold and Gerald seemed to be the only ones noticing, however. 

  
  


"Have you noticed something... different... about Helga and Phoebe, Gerald?" Arnold asked, looking over his shoulder at Helga and Phoebe, who were sitting next to each other, looking at the screen of a laptop. It was during recess, and they had been acting strangely all day. Gerald looked back, and nodded his head, to answer his best friend's question. "What do you think could be wrong with them?" he asked, and Gerald shrugged, indicating that he had no clue.

  
  


"I really don't know, man. All I know is that Phoebe is definitely acting strange. Weird, in fact." he said, and immediately Arnold stood up and began to walk over to the two girls. "Hey, man, what're you doing? Wait for me!" he called, standing up and following Arnold. They got over to the girls, but they didn't seem to even notice. The two boys cleared their throats, making the two girls jump, slam the laptop closed, and looked up at them with their eyes wide. Well, Phoebe's cheeks were flushed because Gerald was there, but other than that her face had about the same expression as Helga's.

  
  


'What're you two morons doing here?" Helga asked, crossing her arms. Gerald rolled his eyes, Phoebe sighed and shook her head, and Arnold frowned.

  
  


"We were wondering what could be so interesting that BOTH of you would be completely distracted from everything else." Arnold stated, and right away, Helga stood up, making sure she was eye-to-eye (she was slouching a little, because she's taller than him) with him. She squinted her eyes, and leaned forward a little. "It's not like we're going to kill you for being distracted or something stupid like that." Arnold said, crossing his arms.

  
  


"Helga, why don't we just go ahead and tell them about our obsession?" Phoebe inquired, and the two boys looked at her strangely. Helga sighed, plopped back down next to her best friend, and looked off to one side.

  
  


"Fine. Do whatever you like. I don't care."

  
  


Phoebe gave Helga a small glare, then she looked up to the two boys. "Well, a few days ago, Helga bought a Playstation2 for herself," the boys raised their eyebrows and looked strangely at Helga, who rolled her eyes. "And when she did, she bought this incredibly entertaining game, called Wild ARMs 3. I had been wondering what was wrong with her yesterday, so I called her house, and she invited me over to see what had her so preoccupied. I went over, and just like that," she snapped her fingers, "I was just as addicted to the game as her. If you two boys would like to join us in a game of it later today, you're welcome to. We still need two more players to play Gallows and Clive." she said, smiling brightly.

  
  


Gerald smiled brightly, all ready to answer her question. "Sure, Phoebe, we'd love t-" before he could finish his sentence, Arnold interrupted him.

  
  


"Gerald, don't you see? It's addicting like that stupid the King Rules game you got addicted to! If you get started playing it, that means that you'll never stop playing it and never talk to anyone else or... or... anything!" he said, and Gerald frowned at him.

  
  


"Ok, fine, we won't play the game, but don't say that I didn't want to play it, 'cause I do." he looked down to Phoebe, who was looking at the ground, playing with her fingernails. He sighed, and bent down next to her ear. "When and where are you guys going to be playing it?" he whispered, and she smiled, looking back up at him.

  
  


"After school at Helga's house. Don't be late. She doesn't like it when people are delayed, you know."


	3. Arnold, You Did What You Told Gerald Not...

Chapter 3! And still only reviews from Serap. I didn't expect to get reviews from anyone else, but could any that's reading this be at least a little kind to a girl who is trying to get someone besides a very, very few people to actually enjoy her work (that gives her a headache). 'Cause, well, I hate to admit this, but without inspiration from someone besides Serap (no offence, don't worry), I get bored of my fan-fics whether they are the most fun things to write in the world or the most boring. SO, TO ANYONE BESIDES SERAP THAT ACTUALLY LIKES THIS, REVIEW OR I WON'T WRITE ANY MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's a threat (j/k)!

  
  


No more disclaimers. If you want a disclaimer, read chapter one and two again.

  
  
  
  


Gerald walked up to the door of Helga's house, gulped, and rung the doorbell. He glanced around, and then the door finally was opened. "Ah, Geraldo, so you're finally here. Good. We were wondering if football head talked ya out of coming." Helga said, as she reached out from behind the door, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him into the tall blue brick building. Once they were inside, Gerald had to look around. He had only been in Helga's house once, and that was that one time that she thought she was dying from that monkey disease (a/n: I can't spell the name of that disease). After a while of Gerald looking around the house, Helga got impatient. "Well, are ya' just going to stand there gawking like an idiot, or are ya' going to play the game with us?" she asked, and Gerald jumped, shocked to hear her voice again.

  
  


"Oh, yeah. Of course. Let's go." he said, and Helga lead them upstairs, where the game that was interestingly attracting. When they finally got up into Helga's room, she quickly closed the door, locked it, and turned on the tv. "What on earth are you doing?" Gerald asked raising an eyebrow. Helga gave him a look that would shut up the most talkative chatterbox in the world; he shut up in a split second.

  
  


"I don't like my 'parents'," she did the air quotation marks, "Coming in and finding out I bought a Playstation2. If Miriam found out she would just say something like, 'that's nice honey,' but Bob, WHOA, I would be lectured so long I would soon be in a grave with a gravestone that said 'here lies Helga, who died of a terribly long lecture from her father about how her sister would never buy a Playstation2 without her father's permission first.'" she spat, clicking the button behind the machine then the one in front. "Ok, Geraldo, ready to become obsessed?" she asked, turning to Gerald with a smirk. He nodded his head slowly, unsure of whether he should agree or run out the door and down the road to his house. 

  
  


They had just gotten sat down, when suddenly they heard voices downstairs. Helga paused it, and muted the tv so they could hear better. They walked over to the door, and pressed their ears up against the door. They heard Miriam talking to someone, and they could definitely tell it wasn't Bob, because the voice sounded way too young. Helga's eyes widened, and her mouth formed into a love-sick smile. 'He's in my house on his own free-will!' she thought, drifting into one of her little daydreams. "It's Arnoldo," she said, after shaking herself out of the reverie, realizing that if Gerald saw her, she would be doomed. Gerald's eyes widened.

  
  


"Oh man, if he catches me... oh man! I promised him I wouldn't!" Gerald said, backing away from the door after he heard Arnold's footsteps coming up the stairs. He frantically looked around the room, trying to find a place to hide. Helga and Phoebe watched him, in pure shock. They didn't know someone could be so scared of Arnold. Then they heard a knock on the door. "Hide me!" Gerald mouthed, and Helga, seeing as how she moved her shrine, pushed him into the closet and closed the door. "Thank you!"she heard him whisper through the door.

  
  


"Yeah, yeah, yeah, now shut up before the football head hears ya'!" Helga whispered harshly back, then walked over to the door, unlocked it, and opened it, to see a slightly miffed Arnold standing there. "Hey football head, what brings you here?" she asked, smiling. Arnold raised an eyebrow. Helga smiled on a rare occasion, and he had only seen it once or twice. It was rare, and he was almost take aback. But not quite.

  
  
  
  


"I was just wondering if you've seen Gerald around. I called his house, and his mom said that he went to your house. Where is he?" he asked, crossing his arms. Helga looked to Phoebe, then back to Arnold with a confused look on her face (although it was completely fake).

  
  


"Well, Arnoldo, I haven't seen him since school this morning. So, I guess you'll have to check around some more." she said, and just as Arnold was about to turn and leave, she said, "Hey, while you're here, wanna try playing my game? You could be Clive if you'd like." Helga said, making Arnold look at her quite confused. Helga was offering for him to stay and play on her Playstation2 game, without him giving her anything in return? Well, this was a rarity, and plus, he knew that he didn't get quite as obsessed with games as Gerald did, so he figured he was safe to go ahead and play the game for a little while.

  
  


"Well, I guess, but just for a minute." he said, and they all walked over to the three stops that Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe all had been sitting in. Arnold looked at the third seat strangely. "Uh, why do you have three seats out?" he asked, and Helga laughed.

  
  


"We had an extra seat out 'cause we figured that Geraldo might show up. We didn't figure you would, because of your ice cold talk with Gerald." she said, and Arnold immediately sent a frown her way. She laughed at his look, sat down, un-muted the tv, un-paused the game, and the game began again.

  
  


*****

  
  


Helga laughed, and looked at her football headed love god. Ever since about ten minutes into the game, he had been so caught up in it you'd think if you said anything to him he wouldn't respond for an hour. That's when she realized that Arnold could sometimes get like Gerald. he was more caught up in the game than herself. "Hey football head, don't you think you should call your grandparents and tell them where you are?" she waited for a minute, but al she got was a small 'huh.' She repeated her question, and he looked at her strangely.

  
  


"I'll call them later." he said, and turned back to the screen. Helga slightly chuckled, but muffled it with her hand. "What?" Arnold asked, turning his head back to her with an eyebrow raised.

  
  


"It's just that you said that a half hour ago, and you still haven't called them, now have you? I think you've become just as obsessed as Phoebe and I am with this game." Helga said, and Arnold laughed. After a few more minutes, they got to a fight that they couldn't beat, and they got off, fighting a reluctant Arnold. Helga and Phoebe said that they were all getting tired and needed to take a break, but Arnold kept saying that he didn't need to take a break. "Come on, Arnoldo, we could always go to www.Filgaia.com." Helga said, laughing. Arnold smiled, and nodded his head.

  
  


Suddenly, Gerald fell out of the closet, onto his face. "That's it! I can't stand it any more! It's too stuffing in there!" he exclaimed, and Arnold gave Helga a glare that said 'you-liar!' She smiled, shrugged, and then sat down at the computer with the other four standing behind her. Gerald looked at Arnold, and smirked. "So, wouldn't even call your grandparents to tell them where you were, huh? Worse than me and the King Rules." he snickered, and Arnold shook his head.

  
  


"Ok, so, anyone here up for a quiz?" Helga asked, getting all 'yes' answers. "Ok! Let's see, What Wild Arms Series Main Character Are You? Sounds good. Now..." she answered several questions on the thing, and her answer came up. "Huh, I'm Jet, just like I thought." she said, a smile playing across her face. "Ok, football head, your turn." she asked him several questions, and he answered each one. "You're... hee, hee, hee... Virginia." she laughed, and Arnold forced himself to chuckle. 'Ok, Pheebs, your turn." they repeated what her and Arnold had done, and Phoebe's answer came up. "You're... some kind of Rudy guy." (Rudy is from Wild ARMs 1). They did the sequence again for Gerald, and his answer came up. "You're... well, doesn't quite fit you. Quiet and Shy Rudy, like Phoebe." she said, laughing at the huge surprise. Suddenly, they all felt a wave of sleepiness wash over them. Helga yawned, and said, "Hey Pheebs, you getting tired too, or is it just me?" she asked, and then she saw Arnold fall backwards onto the floor, asleep. "Well, by that I can tell I must not be... the... only..." she began, but didn't get to finish because she had drifted to sleep. Soon after, Phoebe fell backwards onto the floor, sleeping like a baby, and the Gerald did likewise. Little did they know where they would wake up...................................................................


	4. We're in Wild ARMs 3?

OMG, people actually like this story!! Yay!!! I'm so happy now! Thank you all for the reviews, I love getting reviews! And, by the way, this story contains major spoilers for Wild ARMs 3 if you're planning on getting it or already have it and haven't gotten very far yet. MAJOR SPOILERS!!!! I'm going to do basically all of it from where I'm doing on my second save-game of it. I've already finished it, but I did another one that I'm going to quote from and say where it is in this. ^_^

  
  


No disclaimers. None, zip, zilch, nada, nil, nothing. -_^

  
  
  
  


Helga stared into a pit of nothingness as she stood with her beloved. "Arnold, where are we, and why are we here?" she asked, in a small voice. He turned to her, and turn her head to his face, a calm smile planted on his face.

  
  


"We are alone, and that's the only thing you need to worry about." he said, and began to pull her face closer to his. She smiled, and willingly began to come closer to him also. Their lips brushed each others, when suddenly they began to feel the earth moving underneath them. 

  
  


"Arnold, what's happening?" Helga asked, embracing Arnold, hoping to keep herself safe from whatever had started the earthquake. Arnold looked up at her, and then began to back away from her embrace. She reached out, her hand stuck out towards him, and her eyes wide like she was terrified. "Arnold! Come back! Arnold! What is it? Did I do something wrong?" she asked, and began to walk towards him, slowly at first, but she gradually got faster. "Arnold!!" she called when she finally broke into a run. "Arnold, come back!!" she cried, tears stinging her eyes.

  
  


She ran for a little bit longer, when a sudden burst of noise stopped her in her tracks. She stopped, and fell to the ground, covering her ears. "WAKE UP!! WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPP!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAKE UUUUUUUUP!!!" the sound rattled in her ears, and everything began to crumble around her.

  
  


(A/n: I got the idea of that dream sort of from one of the dreams that Virginia has ^_^)

  
  


*****

  
  


Arnold sat in a park with Lila by his side, watching the sky. Lila sighed, and leaned against his shoulder. "It's just oh so wonderful sitting next to you, in the park, under this ever so beautiful tree, Arnold." she said, and Arnold wrapped his arm around her, as he smiled to himself. Everything was going perfect.

  
  


Then he heard a sudden voice. "Arnold!" he heard a female's voice gasp from behind him. He glanced back there to see Helga, standing there, drenched to the bone, shivering, and her hand covering her mouth. "Now I see... I see why you weren't there... you were with her." she said shakily, removing her hand from her mouth to reveal a sneer. "I thought you promised me. You promised me you would help me, but you never did. Come to think about it, you never have even paid me any attention, have you? Yes, actually you have." she said, as she walked closer to him. Lila looked around to Helga, then to Arnold.

  
  


"What ever is she talking about, Arnold?" Lila asked, touching her lower lip with her right index and middle fingers. Arnold looked at her, and shrugged, not knowing why Helga was suddenly being so emotional.

  
  


"Arnold, I know I never should have picked on you all of those times, but couldn't you have at least tried to find out why? No, but I can't blame you. You didn't want to get close to this bully, which is just a facade of the real me. You were either too embarrassed at what your friends would think, or too afraid of me. Which was it? Which IS it? You couldn't ever even get close enough to at least try to get me to tell you why I'm the way I am. Why haven't you even tried?" Helga asked, hysterics in her voice, and her eyes brimming with tears. She shook her head, and smiled sadly, looking down at the ground. "I guess I can't regret my own dumb facade for you being worse to me than I am to you." Arnold's face contorted into confusion. "Well Arnold, I guess I could always tell you now, or never tell you. Which would you like?"

  
  


Arnold gave her another questioning look, but didn't speak. Helga gave him a more sullen look, and then she sighed, and began to disappear, fading to nothing. "Helga, what do you mean I'm worse to you than you are to me? I haven't ever bullied you, or anyone for that matter!" he said, and Helga shook her head, looking up at him this time with anger.

  
  


"It's too late for that now, Arnold! Too late, ya' hear me? You lost your chance to find out what the real me is like! Adieu, Arnold, have a wonderful life, with your guilt!" she said loudly, but it began to fade as her body began to disappear. Arnold stood up, and began running at where she used to be.

  
  


"Helga? What do you mean by that? Helga?! Where are you??" he asked, when he suddenly fell face first onto the ground, shaken by a strange earthquake that didn't feel like any normal tremor he had ever felt. "Helga, where are you!??" he called, just before loud shouts began to fill his ears. (The same shouts Helga heard.) He covered his ears, trying to drowned out the earsplitting sound (it was louder now).

  
  


***** (I'm not going to do Phoebe and Gerald's dreams, because they aren't quite as important. Oh, and it's back to where Helga was waking up.)

  
  


Helga's face contorted into several different shapes before her eyes opened. She blinked, and yawned, patting her mouth with her hand. Once her eyes finally adjusted so they were no longer blurry, she noticed how she was lying. She blushed, and sat up directly. Her face had been only a millimeter (actually it was more like an inch, but to her it seemed like a millimeter) from Arnold's face. Then her eyes widened, because she what she saw shocked her. Instead of seeing a fourth grader's body, she saw a man's body. She examined him up and down, blushing even more as she did so. He was... was... whoa! He looked just like he did in the dream she had about them being married, except maybe a little younger. He had on a brown coat (that was pretty thin) that came down to his ankles with a black belt through the middle of it (but the coat wasn't closed), a black t-shirt underneath the coat, blue faded jeans, and boots with spurs adorned his feet. A belt full of bullets (what are those called?) was wrapped around his waist, and Helga noticed a medium sized type of gun on the belt as well. Her eyes were even wider now. His hair was gelled back, with a few strands hanging in his eyes.

  
  


Then she thought of something. She looked down at herself, and her eyes grew wide, as her mouth curled into a smile. She had an almost perfect hourglass figure. She had blue jeans that clung to her legs, a pink blouse that had a fringe around the neck and around the edges of the sleeves, a darker pink jacket that came just below her posterior with the sleeves rolled up, and black normal tie boots. She felt her hair, and blinked. She still had the bow, except it was more of a ribbon now, and her pigtails were low, past her ears. Then she noticed something. She had a type of gun, too. It was small and pistol-like. Then she gasped. 'We're... we're... in Wild ARMs 3!' she thought, as she finally looked up.

  
  


There, standing in front of her, was an Indian. She smiled as she recognized him. His hair was long, brown, had a green and yellow striped head band around his head with two batches of bangs hanging down in his face (one batch was brown, the other white), and was down held with green ponytail things. He had green eyes, and fat lips (a/n: I'm explaining him as if I was Helga, just to let you know). He was very muscular, and it showed everywhere. He had a necklace hanging around his neck that had beads and three feathers on it. On each hand his fingers had three gold rings around them, on his wrists he adorned a green bracelet and a yellow bracelet and a grey thing that Helga couldn't quite tell what was. He had a dark yellow vest that had white feathery stuff around the edges of the arm holes, ammunition for his ARM hanging on green belt-like things, and he had no shirt under the vest so you could see his muscles better. He had blue jeans with a black belt around them holding up a dark yellow thin thing and dark yellow chaps on the jeans. Black boots with spurs adorned his feet. Helga knew who this was. It was Gallows Caradine, the (before he became a Drifter he lived with his granny, Halle) Basker up-and-coming-Priest and Drifter (a Drifter on Wild ARMs three are neither good nor bad, and fight monsters for pay. Some of them that work alone are called Treasure hunters).

  
  


"Well I see you finally woke up," Gallows said, chuckling under his breath. "I've been trying to get you to move for the past 5 minutes. You and your friends, that is." he said, motioning to Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe. She looked over to them with wide eyes. It wasn't just her and Arnold that got transported there, Gerald and Phoebe had been, too! Then a thought struck her. It must be a dream. She had to be having a dream. What other possible explanation could there be? She stood up, and dusted herself off.

  
  


"Yeah, yeah, we'll move, just hold your horses," she spat, and began to shake Arnold. "Arnold! Hey, hair boy, wake up! WAKE UP!!" she shouted into his ear, making him jump up and look around frantically.

  
  


"Huh, what, where am I??" he exclaimed, when he jumped up. He looked to Helga, and let out a yelp, making her clasp her hand over his mouth and lean next to his ear, sending shivers down her neck.

  
  


"Arnold, we're in a dream. We're dreaming that we're Wild ARMs 3, and we're 18! Now DON'T freak out, all right? Or else I'll have to use my ARM on you." she whispered harshly in his ear as his eyes widened. He couldn't believe it; having a dream that they were all 18 and in Wild ARMs 3?! But, none of the dreams he had before told him it was a dream, and in fact, they usually never even knew it was a dream. He pinched himself, and would have gave out a huge yelp, but Helga's hand muffled his voice. He pushed her hand away, and stood up. Then he noticed Gallows standing there, waiting, and staring slightly strangely at Helga. He blinked, and then smiled.

  
  


"Uh, hi," he began, not sure what to say. He knew he wasn't in a dream, because the pinch had hurt more that anything, but he hadn't quite convinced himself that it wasn't a dream. "Where are we and who're you?" he asked, scratching the back of his head, and giving Gallows a confused look. He knew who Gallows was, but he didn't know what town they were in.

  
  


"You're in Humphry's Peak, and I'm Gallows Caradine. Now, uh, could you and your friends move? I'm trying to get into the ARMs shop." Gallows said, motioning behind Arnold to the ARMs shop. Arnold glanced back there, then down. There were Phoebe and Gerald, Gerald lying on the ground with Phoebe's head on his chest. Arnold lightly chuckled, and shook his two friends to get them to wake up. Finally, Phoebe's eyes opened, but Gerald continued to lay there, snoring quite loudly.

  
  


"Hmm?" Phoebe mumbled as she sat up, and looked down at herself, her eyes wide. She was in a blue long sleeved dress that came down to her ankles, and that had about 6 layers of lace underneath the skirt. The skirt part of the dress had a red design around the bottom of it, and it had an azure belt around her waist, so that it formed to her figure. The sleeves on the dress started out tight at the top, and gradually flared out, with the same red design on the bottom edge of the sleeves. It had a white strip down the front, that started out wide at the top, and as it went down it became smaller. Her hands were clad in white gloves. She then felt her hair, and her eyes grew even wider. Her hair was done in a bun, with hair sticking out it, making a ponytail, and it was quite long (a/n: I got that hair-do from Antanora from Wild ARMs 2), with slight waves to it. She then noticed that she had a book with her, that was in her pocket. She examined it strangely, feeling across the face of it. 

  
  


"Phoebe, don't worry. We got transported into Wild ARMs 3, and we need to move, because Gallows is trying to get into the ARM shop." she heard Arnold whisper in her ear, making her eyes go wide. If they were in Wild ARMs 3, then why did she have a book instead of an ARM? And plus, getting transported into a Playstation2 or any kind of game is physically impossible. Then she glanced behind Arnold, to see Gallows and Helga standing there. Gallows looking like he was patiently waiting for something, and Helga looking like she was irritated.

  
  


"Ok, Arnold." Phoebe whispered back to him, then took notice of where she had been sleeping, and she blushed furiously. She sat back a little more, and began to shake Gerald, to get him awake. He looked quite different, also. His tall stack of hair was now shaved, with a very slight bit of fuzz instead. He had on a white shirt with a black jacket over it, black pants, and the same shoes as Arnold, but without the spurs. He had a belt with ammunition, and two ARMs, that Phoebe could tell were similar to Virginia's. "Gerald, wake up, we need to move. Gerald?" she said into his ear, her voice medium volume. His eyes finally shot open, and he looked around. "Now Gerald, don't be too alarmed, but we're in Wild ARMs 3. And we need to move, since Gallows Caradine wants into the ARM shop, and we're in front of it." she whispered, while helping Gerald stand up.

  
  


"Ok, gotcha Phoebe." he said, noticing that, now that they were out of the way, Gallows had quickly walked into the ARMs shop. Then he noticed everyone there. "Don't tell me, we ALL got transported here?"

  
  


"Looks like it, hair boy." Helga spat, with her arms crossed, while she leaned against a tree that was near the building. Gerald's eyes were wide. Helga looked GOOD! Then he finally noticed how Phoebe looked. She looked even better! Hot, even!

  
  


"Wow, Phoebe, you look hot!" he said, trying to keep the blush that was trying to come from surfacing, but he wasn't succeeding. Phoebe giggled, blushing herself, with her head facing down, but her eyes directed up at Gerald.

  
  


"Why thank you, Gerald. You don't look half bad yourself." she complemented, making Gerald blush more. She looked up, then looked to Arnold, who was smiling, then to Helga who was secretly smiling, but trying as hard as possible not to show it.

  
  


"Pff, please. If you two are going to get all mushy, please go somewhere else before I puke." she spat, rolling her eyes. Phoebe smiled, and shook her head, knowing exactly why Helga was acting that way. Gerald and Arnold frowned at her, and she looked at them as if she was clueless. "What? I don't like puking." she said, smiling a completely fake smile, and shrugging her shoulders upwards. Then her smile faded, and she looked in the opposite direction. She sighed, then un-crossed her arms, and began to walk away from there. Towards the house with a blue roof, to be exact.

  
  


"Hey Helga, where are you going?" Arnold called, curious as to why she would leave. She stopped, and glanced back at him, then shrugged and continued walking.

  
  


"None of your beeswax!" she called over her shoulder, and continued walking towards the blue roofed house. Just as she finally got near it, she turned, and began to walk behind it. She glanced several ways, then ducked down, and (even though she was in different clothes) pulled out her gold locket, looking at it lovingly. "Oh, Arnold, how I wish that you and I could share our feelings for each other, the way Phoebe and Gerald do. Oh, I feel much more for you than they do for each other, but couldn't you at least show some kind of affection towards me? Is that too much to ask? Oh, my love, when will you see me the way I see you? Through love?" she chanted, in an almost inaudible whisper. She sighed, and placed the locket back in her jacket's pocket. She leaned against the wall of the house, and looked up, with a love-sick look in her eyes. Then she heard something. It sounded like a giggle. A young girl's giggle. She shot straight up, and looked around, but saw nothing. Then she heard another giggle, but it was a different little girl's giggle. She glanced around again, then stood up, and then noticed a blonde little girl with two blue bows and a blue dress on in a bush. "Hey!" she said, walking towards the girl. "Who are you, kid?" she asked, raising an eyebrow (yes she has two).

  
  


The little girl stood up, and smiled shyly, putting her hands behind her back. "My mom says not to talk to strangers, because they might hurt me or try to steal me." she said, shaking her head at Helga. Helga scowled, and began to walk away from the little girl. Then she realized who this girl was, and she had to do a double take. It was Kaitlyn Winslett, Clive's daughter! Kaitlyn looked at strangely, and ducked back behind the bush a little more. "What is it?" she asked, and Helga turned completely around again.

  
  


She was about to say that she knew who Kaitlyn was, but she thought better of it. "Oh, nothing, kid, I was just going to say that you don't need to worry about me. I wouldn't hurt a kid, or kidnap anyone. That's not what I do." she said, then turned around, and began walking towards the others. She smirked, and thought, 'She's going to say something, in five, four, three, two, one...'

  
  


"Wait!" she heard Kaitlyn call, then she turned around, and saw her come out from behind the bush, walking towards her. "Um, are you joking, or are you telling the truth?" she asked, and Helga raised an eyebrow, basically saying, 'What, don't you believe me?' Kaitlyn smiled a small smile, and put her hands behind her back again. "I'll tell you my name if you tell me your's." she said, looking up, and Helga nodded her head, sighing and rolling her eyes, making Kaitlyn giggle. "My name is Kaitlyn Winslett. Now tell me your's!"

  
  


"Helga Pataki," Helga said, and before she had gotten her name fully out of her mouth, Kaitlyn grabbed her hand and began dragging her somewhere. "Hey, what's the big idea!? Where are you taking me!? And why?! You barely met me, and you're acting like I'm one of your best friends! Crimany!" Helga cried, trying to get her hand out of Kaitlyn's grasp. But, oh no, she couldn't her hand out of the young girl's grip. Kaitlyn giggled again, then let go of Helga's hand, and looked up at her.

  
  


"Helga, I was wondering, why haven't I seen you before now? I've lived here with my mommy and daddy for longer than I can remember, but I've never seen you before. Are you going to move here? Or are you a Drifter?" she asked, smiling, and playing with her bows. Helga blinked, and looked over to Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald, who were all talking, obviously nervous because of the predicament they were in. she thought for a minute. 'What should I tell her? That I'm just moving here, or that I'm a Drifter? Well, I have an ARM.' she thought, then slowly began to smile, but quickly stopped herself, and looked down at Kaitlyn.

  
  


"I'm a Drifter," she said, then Kaitlyn smiled, and dashed inside the blue roofed house. Helga looked at the door of the blue roofed house strangely, then she shrugged, and walked back over to the others. They all looked to her, and Phoebe smiled, while Gerald and Arnold looked like they could care less that she was back. She noticed the guys' looks. "You don't have to be so excited to see me." she said scornfully, a scowl spreading across her face. she crossed her arms, and leaned against the tree again. "So, what were you talking about while I was gone? Something about an idea for getting out of here, I hope." she said, looking right at Phoebe, who shrugged. (Oh, Helga figured out it wasn't a dream, by the way)

  
  


"No, we haven't thought of a possible way of getting back to our own world, but we have figured out why we have been sent here, and with different ages, clothes styles, and everything." 

  
  


"Spill it."

  
  


"Well, we are positive it's because the characters might need our help. Either that or just because we all became obsessed with it."

  
  


Gerald then piped up. "Uh, you mean you three did, I didn't even get to play it more than five minutes. Arnold came, and interrupted us." he said, glancing at Arnold, who smirked.

  
  


"Oh, yes. We talked about that, too. We really have only a miniature idea as to why we're here." Phoebe continued, and Helga nodded her head, looking back towards the blue roofed house, to see four people leave out through the door Kaitlyn had went in through. She recognized them as Clive Winslett, Virginia Maxwell, Jet Enduro, and Kaitlyn Winslett, who she had met a minute before (a/n: if you want to see what Clive, Virginia, and Jet all look like, look at the bottom of the page for URLS). Then Gallows walked out of the ARMs shop, and past the four teens, over to the others. Helga watched, and Kaitlyn pointed at her, forcing the others to look their way. Clive nodded his head, said something to his daughter, and then the four Drifters walked out of the town, into the wasteland. Helga smirked, and turned to the others.

  
  


"Hey, you guys might not like the thought of this, but you know Kaitlyn?" she asked, and the others, minus Gerald, nodded their heads. "Well, I met her, and she asked if I was a Drifter. I told her I was, and she's coming this way, so, she'll probably think we're all Drifters. And I don't know about you guys, but the thought of being a Drifter sounds cooler than trying to find out a way to get back home. So, what I'm saying is, I want to follow Virginia's team around, and, oh, I don't know, help 'em, or... something. What do ya say?" she asked, with the smirk still planted on her face. Phoebe smiled, nodded her head, and clapped her hands.

  
  


"Yes! That sounds delightful!"

  
  


"Ok, two yes votes. What about you, hair boy?" she asked, this time referring to Gerald, instead of Arnold. Instantly, he smiled, and nodded his head vigorously.

  
  


"You bet!"

  
  


"Ok, three yes votes. What about the football head?" she turned to Arnold, who gave her a smile.

  
  


"Sure. That sounds fun. Oh, and Kaitlyn is almost here." he said, looking behind Helga, making her look as well. Kaitlyn walked up behind Helga, and looked at the others strangely, then looking up at Helga.

  
  


"Helga, who are they?" she asked, looking at the others. Then she thought of something, and looked back up at Helga with a questioning look. "Are they on your team?" she asked, and Helga looked at them, nodding her head.

  
  


"Yeah, they are. That's Phoebe, that's Gerald, and that's Arnold." she said, motioning towards each one when she said their name. Kaitlyn smiled, and waved at them. Suddenly, they heard a voice shout Kaitlyn's name come from behind them, making them turn around towards the blue roofed house, to see a woman with dark blonde hair standing in the doorway.

  
  


"Uh oh, I gotta go, my mommy wants me. Will I see you guys again?" she asked them, and they all nodded their heads, making her smile wider. "Good, 'cause, I don't know why, but I like you guys! Bye!" she said, running towards the house. Helga looked to the others, then a thought struck her, making her smirk.

  
  


"Who will be our team captain?"

  
  


___________________________________

  
  


Click on my username, and you'll find my email there. Email me to see what the Wild ARMs 3 main characters look like.

I'm sorry, but I don't have any pictures of Kaitlyn. I'll have more pictures of more characters next chapter! And even some of the same characters, but looking different.


	5. The Schroedingers

Ok, I have nothing to say, so, here is chapter 5 and I don't own Hey Arnold or Wild ARMs 3!

  
  
  
  
  
  


They walked out of the small town after they decided that Helga would be the best choice for team captain, since she was the one that got them obsessed with Wild ARMs 3 in the beginning. (They are facing north. Every time someone leaves one of the towns, they end up facing north, no matter if you left through the south exit or any other exit. It's weird.) They then realized they didn't have horses. Helga spun around, frowning at the others. "Oh great, we're going to have to go clear back to Claiborne to get horses! And we don't even have any gella to buy the horses with when we get there!" she exclaimed, then spun around, with her arms crossed. Then she heard something. It sounded like a horse whinnying (a/n: spell check). She turned her head to the side, to see four horses standing next to the four teens. "Well, looks like we do have horses." she said, climbing onto a white horse that had brown patches all over him. Arnold climbed onto a brown one with very few black blotches, Phoebe climbed onto a completely black one, and Gerald climbed onto an Appaloosa.

  
  


Helga looked around, scowling, then finally exclaimed, "Where in crimany's name are they?!" then she looked over to Phoebe, who was pointing to the northwest. She looked at way just in time to see the four Drifters disappear over a hill. "Well, I guess Pheebs here is our navigator! Here's a compass I bought at a store." she tossed Phoebe a compass, and then she got her horse to go forward, with the others following her.

  
  


They got over the hill just in time to see the other four go into a cave. Suddenly, Helga heard Arnold shout, "Helga, watch out!!" she looked down, and just in time, her horse jumped. She looked behind herself, to see the crevasse that she had just missed being part of. She gulped, and looked up to Arnold, who had just gotten over the crevasse.

  
  


"Th... th... thanks, football head." she breathed, with her hand over her heart in an attempt to get it to slow down.

  
  


"You're welcome, Helga."

  
  


They all got off their horses, and quickly ran into the cave where the other four had entered. They listened to the others' conversation.

  
  


"It's beautiful... Although it's rather cold." Clive said.

  
  


"Yeah, you're right. There's no doubt about it... This place is as cold as death." Gallows replied, nodding his head.

  
  


"I can't feel the warmness in the air we usually get when we come in contact with a medium." Virginia said solemnly, closing her eyes and placing her hands over her heart.

  
  


"It reminds me of a morgue, except much prettier." Gallows said, motioning around the cave. They all then began walking somewhere else, lead by Clive, although he wasn't the team captain. Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald all looked around the cave. The others were right. It was beautiful, and cold. But it didn't remind them of a morgue. There were blue gems everywhere.

  
  


They followed closely behind the others, watching their every move. First from the first part of the cave, they turned northwest and walked down two little paths, then they turned northeast into another area that was similar. They walked southeast, making sure not to fall into the hole in the ground, down another little path, and into another room. They walked in, and they all heard a voice, making Helga and her team back up into the doorway, so whoever it was wouldn't see them. The other four looked up, and on a bridge above them, was another set of four Drifters. Maya, Alfred, Todd, and Shady (Maya is Alfred's big sister, Todd has an afro, and Shady is a cat... email me to find out what they really look like).

  
  


"I didn't expect to see you so soon." Maya said, standing on the edge, making the other four look up.

  
  


"Maya!" Virginia exclaimed, her jaw dropping. 

  
  


"So, someone tipped you off about the gemstones, too? Is that what you're after?" Maya asked.

  
  


"Y-Yeah, but... Not for the same reason you are!" Virginia exclaimed, an angry glint in her eyes.

  
  


"You are always so vague! I don't know what your intention is, but one thing is for sure." Maya said, scowling. Then she continued, "You perpetually appear wherever I go, and pester me! you might have an altruistic reason for being here, but if you get in our way, I won't hesitate to take you down."

  
  


Virginia's jaw dropped, as her arms both went out to the side. "I just want to be true to myself and live honestly!" she scowled, and balled her hands up in fists. "I know you tried to stop me, but I want to know the truth behind this world! I want to solve it's mystery!" she shook her head, then looked back up at Maya. "I have to keep going in order to keep up with my father's trail! I want to research the gemstones found in this cave. These shards are pieces of the planet's existence."

  
  


Maya just shrugged. "Hmph... Despite your reasoning, you're still after the gems, which makes us enemies." Virginia gave her a pathetic look. "Don't give me that look. Didn't I tell you it'd be no holds barred, the next time we meet? Well, see ya." Maya and her team turned towards the door, and just before they left, Maya turned back towards them, smirking and chuckling. "You'd better hurry. Or else all the gems will be mine." and they walked out the door.

  
  


Helga and the others watched as Virginia's team walked north to a bunch of rocks, and Clive set a bomb down. They walked away from the bomb, it exploded, and the walked past the rocks to a treasure chest. They opened it, and in it was 5000 gella. Helga and the others quickly, before Virginia's team could see them, ran up a small ramp-like thing to the east, and into a door. They all hid behind a huge gemstone.

  
  


"Helga, move over!"

  
  


"You move over! You're stepping on my foot, football head!"

  
  


"Shut up, Helga! You're the one that chose this hiding spot."

  
  


"How about we don't hide after all, and just go through that door over there?"

  
  


Before they could come out from behind the gems, the others came in, and looked around the area. 

  
  


"What are gems exactly?" Virginia asked, looking right towards Arnold and Helga's gems they were hiding behind.

  
  


"Gems are composed of life energy of the planet. This life energy can be likened to the blood of living organisms. This coagulation of the planet's lifeblood becomes what we know as gems." Clive retorted, and they continued walking to the north, to the door. Just as they passed a gem, they were attacked by two Rock Baboons and two Hodacs. Since Helga and the others were following them, they also got attacked, but only by a Hodac and a Rock baboon.

  
  


Helga looked around frantically for a way to escape. Like a white exclamation mark above her head, or something! But there was absolutely not escaping. She sighed, and grabbed out the pistol like ARM she was carrying. "Ok, guys, looks like it's our first fight as Drifters on this. Get your ARMs ready!"

  
  


"But Helga! I only have a book!" Phoebe cried, holding her book up for Helga to see. She furrowed her eyebrows, and bit her lip.

  
  


"Maybe... it's like a guardian's medium. Maybe it'll let you use some magic attack." she called to her best friend, who nodded, and opened the book to see what it had in it. She looked through each page, until she came to a page that really interested her. She read through that page, and suddenly, she was in a completely different ensemble. (A/n: I'm not going to explain it in full detail... I'll just explain the weapon she now has) She looked down, and gasped, because she now had a wooden sword held in a belt.

  
  


"Ok, Pheebs, you have a weapon, now lets get this battle over with so we can catch up to the other team." the guys both drew out their weapons, and the fight officially began.

  
  


Helga shot at the Hodac, hurting it somewhat. Then Phoebe took out her wooden sword, held it above her head, then charged at the Rock baboon, spun around, hitting it once, then jumped and brought it down on the baboon's head, automatically killing it. Helga stared wide eyed at her friend. Then Arnold, who was next, drew out his ARM, aimed, and fired, getting a critical hit, but not killing the Hodac. The Hodac bit Helga, then Gerald pulled out his ARMs, then shot with one and then the other, killing the Hodac.

  
  


Arnold walked up to Helga, and touched her arm, where the Hodac had bit her. "Helga, are you all right?" he asked worriedly. Helga looked at him lovingly, then quickly snapped out of it, and pushed his hand away.

  
  


"Yes, I'm fine, hair boy, now get your hand off of me." she spat, making Arnold scowl, and walk away from her, his hands raised in defense.

  
  


"Fine! You don't have to get so touchy!" he exclaimed, and Helga rolled her eyes.

  
  


"Whatever."

  
  


Finally, Phoebe piped up. "Um, Helga, Arnold? I believe we've been found." she said, motioning to the other Drifters, who were staring at them. Arnold and Helga looked over, then Helga looked back to Arnold, frowning.

  
  


"You moron! You shouted so loudly they heard us and found us!"

  
  


"Me?! You're the one that got all touchy when I was just asking if you were all right!"

  
  


"Well I was all right, see? I had a heal berry with me, so I'm just peachy!"

  
  


"Come on Helga, I didn't know you had a heal berry! I was just worried that you might be hurt really badly or something!"

  
  


"Thanks for the concern, hair boy, but you don't need to waste it on me!!"

  
  


"QUIET!!!!!!"

  
  


Arnold and Helga immediately stopped arguing, and looked to Phoebe, who had stopped their fight. She scowled at them both, and crossed her arms. "You two need to make amends. I mean, what a nonsensical quarrel! Plus, you two didn't even say hello to the others." she said, motioning to the Virginia and her team. Helga rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms, and Arnold sighed.

  
  


"Sorry, Helga."

  
  


"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess I'm sorry too. Just don't get all mushy on me again."

  
  


Then, finally, Virginia spoke up. "Hello. Who are you guys? I don't believe I've ever seen you before."

  
  


Helga rolled her eyes. "That might be because we've been trying to avoid seeing any other Drifters. Well, anyway, I'm Helga, this is Arnold, that's Phoebe, and that's Gerald." she said, pointing to each one as she said their names. Arnold, Phoebe and Gerald all smiled when she said their names. "Now... who're you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

  
  


Virginia smiled, and said, "I'm Virginia, this is Jet, that's Clive, and that's Gallows. Nice to meet you guys." she said, and Helga sighed, nodding her head. Then a thought struck Virginia. "Are you guys here for the gems, also?"

  
  


Helga smirked, and nodded her head. "Yeah, we are."

  
  


"But!" Arnold suddenly cut in, looking at Helga with a piercing look. "I'm sure there would be enough gems for both our teams. And whoever that other team was, I'm sure there's enough for them, too." he said, and Helga looked at him, scowling.

  
  


"Why don't you just be the leader if you're going to be making all the choices?" she whispered harshly, and Arnold shook his head, then looked back to Virginia and the others.

  
  


"Then you mean that we won't be enemies?" Virginia asked, smiling. Arnold looked to Helga, who sighed, and slowly nodded her head. "Yay! I hate having too many enemies." she said, then her team and her all turned around and walked out a door, with Helga and the others following.

  
  


They all walked across the bridge Maya and her gang were on, and through a door, to see another small area. They walked across the area, and into another room, to find Maya, by herself, standing up next to the door. She frowned at them.

  
  


"I just can't seem to get away from you. I can't believe how so much time, energy, and body fat can motive you Drifters this far. I'm really getting fed up. You really want some gems that badly? Then here's a present for you!" she took out a pistol-like ARM, that looked just like Helga's, aimed at the ceiling of the cave, and shot, making a huge boulder fall down right in the pathway leading up to the door where she was at. "Oh, how big and beautiful! Just look at the lovely color and cut! It's perfect for you, don't you think? Well, I'm off to find my perfect gem then. Ta-ta...!" she said, running through the door behind her.

  
  


Virginia walked up to the boulder, shot a bunch of Tindercrests at it making it so if you touched it you'd get a REALLY bad burn, then Gallows took out his freezer doll, and froze the boulder. Clive took out as many bombs as possible, and set them all around the boulder, then the four backed away from the boulder. It blew up just as the other four walked in.

  
  


The four others stopped, and looked at Virginia and her team, who just shrugged. They continued up the path, into another part of the cave. They walked around, collecting the orange gems that were lying around on the ground, and then out the door. No one noticed the really damaged wall on the west, that looked like Clive could easily blow it up with one of his bombs.

  
  


They walked into the next room, and looked around. Virginia's team got right into a conversation, while Helga's team walked on past them. Little did Virginia's team know that the other four weren't really going to just walk out the door.

  
  


"As I mentioned earlier, gems can be likened to blood exuding from the planet. Blood that has coagulated. Which in turn means that this place is full of wounds. Wounds translate into the decay of land - an impoverished planet. Gems can be found within ruins and buildings for this very reason."

  
  


"So that's why this place feels like a morgue..."

  
  


"We feel it even more so because of the medium and the planet's life force. And also because we have been in contact with the guardian's power."

  
  


"So this is one of the more damaged places on Filgaia..."

  
  


The other four finish talking, so Helga's team continued walking to the door. Clive set a bomb at a bunch of rocks, it exploded, the four all walked in and gathered a few gems, and then followed Helga's team. All 8 walked into a large room with holes all over on the floor.

  
  


"I'm more curious as to where these holes lead than to falling in." Clive said, slightly looking down the hole in front of them. Suddenly, Maya came running out of the door they had came through, and shoved them all into the hole in front of them. Helga clutched onto Arnold, screaming her head off. She was the only one screaming, though. They all landed on the ground, and everyone looked at Helga, who still had her arms clutched around Arnold's neck. She pulled away from him, frowning.

  
  


"Stupid football head..." she muttered, crossing her arms. They all noticed a type of path going up, so they walked up it, then Helga noticed a treasure chest on a ledge near them. She walk over to the ledge, jumped onto it, and opened the treasure chest to find a lucky card, which she figured would come in handy. She lifting it out of the chest, jumped off the ledge onto the ground below, then walked back up to the others. They walked through the door in front of them, then up the paths to the room with the holes.

  
  


They tried several different holes, and finally found the one that got them up to the ledge with a door. They had found a ledge with a treasure chest that had a Amulet in it earlier. They began to walk in the door when they heard someone fall onto the floor. They looked behind them to see a fuming Maya, on the ground below them.

  
  


"AGHHHH!! I don't get it!? Why do I keep ending up in the same place!? The mystical mega-sized gem is waiting for me to embrace it! I don't have time for this!" she exclaimed, and began walking towards the same path the others took. Then she finally noticed them, and spun around, more angry than before. "Heeeeey!? That's not fair! How'd you get up there!? I make the path that leads to the treasure! Not you! Stay where you are! Don't move! Take a nap or something! Lock yourself up somewhere!" she commanded, running up the path and in the door.

  
  


Virginia looked to the others in her team and said, "Looks like we have the lead for now. But I'm a little worried about what's ahead..." they walked through the door to the next room, walked down the small pathway that lead down, opened a treasure chest that had two heal berries in it, and just as all 8 were about to go through the door, they heard a voice.

  
  


"Stop where you are! You're not worthy of the gem!" they all spun around, to see Todd, Shady, and Alfred come out from behind one of the huge pillar's in the room. "If you're going to give it your all, then I'll gladly accept your all, and then I'll crush you!"

  
  


Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald all backed away, behind a gem, so they didn't have to fight if they didn't absolutely need to. Virginia's group all looked around, trying to find Maya. "Quit hiding, Maya! Show your face!" Virginia exclaimed, balling her fists.

  
  


"Hiding...!? I wouldn't want you to think that! Fine, behold the true powers of Maya Schroedinger!"

  
  


A book came flying down from where the door they came in from was, and landed in front of Virginia. They looked up, to see Maya standing there in an extremely short red and white dress with black feathers on the shoulders, blue cape, large blue hat, and silver wand. She smirked, and used her index finger to make the hat go slightly upwards.

  
  


"I think I'm going to puke..." Virginia said, shaking her head. "What's with the gaudy costume!?"

  
  


"Surprised? This is my true power!"

  
  


"Milady possesses supernatural powers where she can convert information into her own special abilities. Even nonsensical information can be processed through the medium of a book to wield unlimited powers!" Todd said, his expression not changing once.

  
  


"In other words, she is able to channel certain characters from comics or novels?" Clive asked, adjusting his glasses.

  
  


"Very good, four-eyes!" Shady said, pointing at Clive.

  
  


They all backed up, with their arms forward. "So basically, she's a freak that can mimic the abilities of fictional freaks she reads about. She's gonna freak out!"

  
  


Maya's smirk grew. "Heh heh... You all look impressed..." Alfred sighed, and slouched over.

  
  


"No, sis... they've been taken aback." he whispered to her, and she pointed at Virginia's whole group.

  
  


"I am 'Wonder Witch'! And I have the power to cast any kind of magic!"

  
  


While they were talking about the book powers, Phoebe gasped, her eyes wide. "Oh my! I have that same power!" she whispered, and Gerald patted her back.

  
  


"That's cool, Phoebe." he said, making Phoebe blush, and look down at the ground. Helga noticed this, and her hands balled up into fists, her eyes narrowing.

  
  


The fight between Virginia's team and Maya's team began. It lasted for quite a while, until Virginia's team had only Virginia left. (This really doesn't happen, this is just part of the fan-fiction.) Helga bit her lip, and looked to the others. "Who should help them? I know this doesn't sound very much like me, but, we absolutely need to help them."

  
  


"I agree Helga. How about you, Phoebe, and Gerald go? I can just stay as backup." Arnold said, looking back out at the others.

  
  


"No, if one of us stays behind, all of us stay behind. Got it, football head?" Helga commanded, making Arnold look at her, smiling. 

  
  


"Now I remember why we really decided why you should be the leader of this team." he said, glancing to Virginia fighting by herself against Maya's team. 'We better get out there before Virginia falls...'

  
  


"Why's that?" Helga asked, breaking Arnold out of his thoughts. He looked back up at her, then embraced her, taking her aback. "Huh!?"

  
  


"Because you don't like to leave a team member out. Although, I would normally rather not fight, but if it means helping them, I would rather fight." he said, then looked back to Virginia to see her fall flat on her face. He pulled away from Helga, his eyes wide. "Helga, I think we need to get out to them before Maya does something really drastic and kills them." he said, jumping out from behind the gem and running in front of Maya's team. Helga looked to the others, then jumped out to join Arnold. Soon the other two followed.

  
  


"What's this!? Recruits?" Maya exclaimed, obviously miffed. Todd was already down, and so was Shady, so the only ones that they needed to take down were Alfred and Maya.

  
  


Helga frown, equally as miffed as Maya. "No, we're not recruits! We're just Drifters, here for the gems, like you and them! And since we're after the gems too, that makes us enemies, too!" she exclaimed, making Arnold hit her across the head. She grabbed her head, and looked to Arnold, who was scowling at her. "What is it, hair boy?!"

  
  


"Helga, don't you remember what I said earlier when we first met Virginia and her companions?" he asked, just as miffed as Maya and Helga. Helga just shrugged, and crossed her arms.

  
  


"Yes, I happen to remember, but, I don't want to continue thinking that there are enough gems for everyone. I mean, come on! Do you really seriously think that there are just thousands of gems lying around on the ground?" she asked, and Arnold pointed behind them at the gems that they had been hiding behind. "That's not the kind I want."

  
  


"That's not the kind I want either! I want one that's big, beautiful, and suits me! and those do not do anything of the sort! Now get ready, because I'm planning on showing you no mercy." Maya said, getting one of her attacks ready.

  
  


"Wait!" Phoebe suddenly shouted, drawing all attention towards her. She looked at them, then drew out her book. "I'm not quite fit yet." she opened the book, tossed her hair, read the book, and she was back in the same ensemble as before. Maya's eyes widened, and Phoebe smirked. "You're not the lone one with this supernatural ability!" she said, making May scowl and ball her hands into fists.

  
  


"Ok, then!" she said, bringing her wand from behind her back. "Cremate!!" she shouted, and the four others were engulfed in a fire. The fire went away, leaving each one of them with just a little bit of their life missing.

  
  


"Ha! Arnold's grandma fights better than you!" Helga shouted, making Maya more angry by the second. Helga drew out her small pistol-like ARM, and shot Maya, making her lose balance, but only for a second.

  
  


"Ha, that barely scratched me!" she retorted, sticking her wand straight at Helga, who scowled even more. Phoebe got out her wooden sword, and did the same move as before, this time to Maya. It hurt her quite badly, but she wasn't down yet. "Hey!!" she screeched, looking at Phoebe with fire in her eyes.

  
  


Alfred got out one of his homemade explosives, and tossed it at Gerald, who fell onto his knees, then got back up, looking straight at Alfred, with a scowl. 

  
  


Arnold took out his ARM, and shot Maya straight on, making her fall backwards. She said something inaudible as she stood up, so none of them could hear her. She stuck out her wand, and gripped it with both hands, making the air around them shine brightly. Alfred's eyes widened, and he began running towards his sister. "NOOOOOOOO!!" he shouted, and all of their team, minus Maya, jumped on her. Virginia's group finally had healed enough to get up and see what was going on. "Not here, sis! We'd all be buried alive if you cast something that powerful!" Alfred exclaimed.

  
  


Clive walked over to Maya and her team, and bent over a little bit to talk to them, practically face-to-face. "We have only come here with the intent of research in mind. And it has proven fruitful... At least for us." he said, straightening back up as May and her team got up off the ground. "If you're still interested in striking a vein, please proceed. We won't get in your way." Maya and her team began walking towards the door that the others had been planning to go out, when Clive said, "But I doubt you'll find any precious gems..."

  
  


They all walked into the other room, and looked around. There were just ordinary gems all around them. Maya glanced every which way, blinking (oh, she's in her normal outfit now, and if you want to see it, email me). "Huh...? These are all just ordinary gems..." she said, plopping down on the hard ground, her legs bent underneath her. "We went through all that trouble to get here, and..." she looked up at Clive, and pointed at him. "How did you know there weren't any special gems of value here? Answer me!" she exclaimed, and Clive sighed.

  
  


"We have all been deluded. It was a big misunderstanding on all our parts." he said, and Maya looked down to the ground then back up to him with a almost solemn look on her face.

  
  


"You mean... we've been had?" she asked, in a soft voice. Clive shrugged, and sighed again.

  
  


"Maybe so... we, and everybody else on this planet, have been deluded." he answered, then they all were quiet for a period of time, looking around at the white gems around them. Helga looked to the side, where Arnold stood, staring at one of the gems. She smiled lovingly at him, until he turned and looked at her. she scowled at him, crossed her arms, and looked forward, making Arnold roll his eyes. Phoebe looked to Gerald, and shuffled her feet so she was standing right next to him.

  
  


Finally, Virginia spoke up, in a soft tone of voice. "Then, let me ask you something. So what drives you to face danger?" Maya looked up at her with a smirk, then held her right hand, and rubbed her index finger, middle finger, and thumb together (her hands are in brown gloves).

  
  


"That's easy! Gems! Jewels! The more I get a hold of their sparkle, the more I sparkle!" she exclaimed, making Virginia sigh, and look down at the ground, then back up at her.

  
  


"But that's just a fleeting glitter."

  
  


Maya sighed, rested her hand back down, and said, "The sparkle I'm looking for is the real sparkle. I don't care how many false leads I have to follow. One of these days, I will find it. And I will shine because of it..." her voice faded, and she looked back to her team. She smiled, and stood up, brushing her orange dress off. "Well, I have absolutely no business being here now. The next gem is calling me, so I must bid adieu." she said, and she and her team all walked out of the cave. Virginia looked to her team, and sighed.

  
  


"She's trying to find the real sparkle among the many fake ones in this world... Let's head back to Humphry's Peak for now. We don't have time to waste, either." she said, then turned to Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald, and smiled. "Well, thanks for coming to our rescue back there. We would have had to fight again, after we had recovered, and no one can do that very well, especially since we used up all of our heal berries."

  
  


Arnold smiled, and since he saw that Helga wasn't planning on responding, he nudged her side, making her give him the 'don't ever do that AGAIN!' look. Then she looked to Virginia, and forced a smile (which didn't look that much like a smile, as a matter of fact), then shook hands with Virginia. "Yeah, yeah, well, it was the least we could do. Plus, if we didn't do that, we wouldn't get any gems." Arnold frowned at her, and stomped her foot, making her eyes go wide. "OW!!!" she cried, looking at Arnold with the most vicious look she could muster. He gave her a 'be nice, for once' look, and she sighed, looking back to Virginia with a honest smile. "Yeah, we were... uh... happy to help." she said, trying not to snap back into her normal self.

  
  


Virginia smiled, then let go of Helga's hand and turned to her teammates. "Well, like I said, we don't have time to waste, so let's get back to Humphry's Peak." she said, then turned back to Helga and the others. "I suppose we'll probably see you again, so until then, sayonara." she said, and the others nodded theirs heads.

  
  


"Yep, see ya when we see ya, which will most likely be the next time you see Maya and her gang." Helga said, and Virginia's team left, leaving the others there. She turned to her companions, smirking. "Would do ya say we follow 'em to the next place they go?" she asked, and Phoebe and Gerald smiled, happy to comply. Then Arnold cleared his throat, getting Helga's attention. "What is it, football head?" she asked, crossing her arms, again.

  
  


"Where are we going to sleep tonight?"


	6. Crystals and Lockets

Ok, to all of you people that are reading this, I missed a ruin. In other words, there was another part that I wrote the whole thing up, but... um... I lost it. Oh well, it only had a couple fights, a whole bunch of talking, Virginia getting depressed because she misses her father, and learn about a new artifact. I don't own Hey Arnold or Wild ARMs 3!

  
  
  
  


Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald all walked out of the Gemstone Cave (that's it's actual name... pretty appropriate, no?), and looked around for their horses. Phoebe noticed that they had wondered off a little ways, and were eating on small patch of grass. The four walked to the horses, and got on, still glancing around. Helga sighed, and looked to Arnold, who was feeding his horse (that he named Keola) a carrot that he had found in the cave. "So, football head, do you have any preferences on where to go tonight? Stay here and camp, go to Humphry's Peak, go to a different town, what?" she asked, crossing her arms, and raising an eyebrow at him. He sat up, and looked to the south.

  
  


"I don't know. What do you think? You're the leader of this team." he said, looking back to her, while shrugging and smirking. Helga scoffed, and rolled her eyes, looking to the east. She glanced up, then back down, then to the side, and then finally turned her head back to Arnold.

  
  


"Don't know, don't care, as long as we find somewhere soon." she said, pointing to the west. The others looked that way, then back to Helga, with confused looks on their faces. She sighed, aggravated, and rolled her eyes, grabbing her head with her right hand. "Doi! The sun is setting! I don't want to be roaming around in the dark looking for a place to sleep!" she said, and placed her hands on her hips. Arnold sighed, and shook his head.

  
  


"We won't be doing that. We're just going to look until the sun gets close to setting, and if we haven't found a town by then, then we'll just settle down and camp there." he said, and Helga shook her head stubbornly, making Arnold scowl and cross his arms. "And why don't you think that is a good idea, huh? I personally think it's better than your plan to look for a town even in the dark."

  
  


"Well, football head, I personally don't like the idea of having to-" Before she could finish her sentence, Arnold's eyes widened, and she saw him reach for his ARM. Her eyes widened, and she leaned back a little, blinking. He leaned over, so he could see behind her. He brought his ARM up, then he aimed it behind her, making her scream and duck down, covering her head. He shot at the thing behind her, killing it right on. Helga sat up, and looked behind her just in time to see the monster fall down, dead. She breathed heavily, and looked to Arnold. "Thanks, Arnold." she said, placing her hand over her heart.

  
  


"Welcome," he said, directing his horse towards the south. "Now come on, let's go to that one town that you told me that you had visited not long before Humphry's Peak." he said, and Helga smiled, turning her horses towards the same direction. 

  
  


"Ah, yes! That one city... uh... what was it called again, Pheebs?" she asked, turning to her best friend, who was silently sitting on her horse, next to Gerald, who was also silently sitting on his horse. Phoebe looked up from her horse's mane, and smiled.

  
  


"I believe it was called Little Rock." she retorted, making Helga nod her head and look towards the southwest. She looked back at Arnold, then at Phoebe, and then at Gerald, who was now looking up.

  
  


"Ok, we're going to stay in Little Rock tonight. Let's get going." she said, motioning towards the south. They got their horses to run that way, and they were off. The horses jumped over the crevasse, and this time, Helga saw it. They continued on in the direction of Humphry's Peak, then when they got to it, they turned to the left, and began running towards a bridge that went over a small river of sand.

  
  


After getting across the bridge, they continued in that direction, Phoebe leading them (because, as Helga said in the previous chapter, Phoebe is now the navigator). They turned completely to the left, past a mountain on the right side and a beach on the left side. They continued, until Phoebe said to turn to the left, because the mountain curved that way, so they turned in that direction. Soon, they came to Little Rock.

  
  


When Phoebe's horse stopped, she slipped, and began to fall off. "Whoa!" she cried, and before her she hit the ground, she felt two hands grab her under the armpits. She looked up into the smiling face of Gerald. 

  
  


"You should be more careful. Wouldn't want you to break your neck, ya' know?" he said simply, making her blush, and slightly giggle. He helped her get off the horse and onto her feet, all the while a very slight blush spreading across his face.

  
  


"Thank you, Gerald." Phoebe acknowledged, giving Gerald a slight peck on the cheek, then running into the town. He blinked, then began to walk after her, while touching his cheek, and smiling.

  
  


Arnold and Helga each watched the scene from their own horse, smiling. (Helga named her horse Jaime, because it means I love.) They looked to each other, and once Helga remembered that she was smiling, she scowled, making Arnold's own smile droop. They looked away from each other, then got off their horses, and walked into the town, to see Phoebe and Gerald walk into the Rolling Stone inn, arm-in-arm. 

  
  


Helga laughed, and shook her head, half-smiling. "Good going, Pheebs, you finally got tall hair boy." she muttered, then heard Arnold mutter something also. She heard what he said, and she right away scowled, and began walking quite quickly to the inn, her teeth and fists clenched. Arnold looked at her strangely, then began running towards her. He slowly down when he got next to her. "Go away." she snarled, and began to walk quicker.

  
  


"What did I do?" he asked, being his normal dense self. Helga glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, to see him walking quicker, also, so he could catch up with her. Her lip curled into a snarl, and she slammed her right fist into her left palm.

  
  
  
  


"Nothing, absolutely nothing. Now that you know, GO AWAY, FOOTBALL HEAD!!" she shouted at him, finally running inside the inn, to see Phoebe and Gerald standing at the counter, staring at her strangely. "Did you get the rooms?" she asked, and Phoebe and Gerald looked to each other then back to her.

  
  


"Well, we got one room, because there are 4 beds in each room..." Phoebe said, handing the person behind the counter the gella they had gotten when they fought the monsters and Maya's team. Helga shook her head, pointing behind herself at Arnold, who had just walked into the inn.

  
  


"I am absolutely refusing to stay in the same room with him!!" she growled, looking over her shoulder at him. He gave her a confused look, then looked to Phoebe and Gerald, who were frowning at him.

  
  


"What did I do? Helga was just mad at me for some reason... I just muttered something about how I wish Lila and I would get together, like you two, and then she got all mad." he said, motioning to Helga, who bit her lip, hoping it wasn't too obvious to Gerald why she got suddenly so angry. The two looked to Helga, frowning.

  
  


"I'm tired. Let's just go to the room." she said, taking the key from Phoebe's hand. She quickly ran up the stairs, biting her lip, and furrowing her eyebrows. "Oh, why did I overreact? In front of Arnold, Gerald, and... well, it didn't really matter that Phoebe saw it, 'cause she already knows how much I love Arnold. But, why oh why did I do that? Stupid girl, stupid!" she said to herself, hoping that niether Arnold nor Gerald had followed her. Then she heard a floorboard squeak. She froze, and paled.

  
  


"Helga, you did it because you don't like the fact that Arnold like-likes Lila? Ha!" she heard a voice that she really, seriously didn't want to hear. It was Gerald's voice. She flinched, and turned around, frowning. He was smirking. "Wait until I tell Arnold..." he said, making Helga's eyes widen and her jaw drop. Quickly, she recovered herself, and whipped out her ARM, aiming it at Gerald. "Whoa, Helga, don't overreact... It's not worth killing me over..."

  
  


"Oh, I would never kill you! Well, at least not if you promise NEVER to tell Arnold. I plan on telling him myself, when I'm ready." she said, lifting the ARM up towards Gerald's head. He watched it, then glanced down at Helga.

  
  


"Ok, ok, I won't tell! Don't worry! Sheesh, you like to overreact more than Sid." he chuckled, pushing her pistol-like ARM away from his face with the back of his hand. She scowled even deeper, and plunged the gun back where it had been. She narrowed her eyes at him, and poked his stomach several times.

  
  


"You better not, or else. Remember that. NEVER forget, tall hair boy." she threatened, then turned around, took the key out from her pocket, slid it into the keyhole of the door, and opened the door to see a room with a couple barrels, a little bit of pottery, a bookshelf, and two bunk beds. "Hey, this is the room that Virginia's team stayed in when Phoebe and I had them stay in this town." she said, running to the bunk bed on the same side of the room as the door. "I get the top bunk." she proclaimed, and began climbing up onto the top bunk. Arnold walked into the room, and looked strangely at Helga, who had one foot down on the bottom bunk, her hands gripping the top bunk's covers tightly, her chin just barely over the top bunk, and one foot up on the top bunk.

  
  


He chuckled, and walked over to her, making her glance down at him. "Do you need any help, Helga?" he asked, and Helga shook her head as best as she could. He sighed, and shook his head at how stubborn she was. "Come on Helga, it'll be my way of saying sorry about whatever I did to make you so mad at me." he offered, holding his hands out to her, his palms facing upwards. She paused for a minute, then sighed.

  
  


"Fine, football head. Grab my lower foot down their, and hoist me up. Okay?" she asked, and he nodded his head, grabbing her foot that was on the lower bed. He held her foot up, higher then it had been before, while she pushed herself up with it. She was finally up on the bed. She sighed, and kicked off her boots, while pulling her jacket off. She threw her jacket down next to her boots, then pulled up the blankets of the bed, and climbed under them. "Well, see ya in the morning." she said, resting her head down on the pillow and pulling the blankets up.

  
  


While she rested there, thinking about going right to sleep, but also thinking against it, she listened to the others' conversation. "So, Gerald, where are you going to be sleeping?"

  
  
  
  


"On the upper bunk, if you don't mind, Pheebs." 'Sounds like Geraldo uses my nickname for Phoebe now. Pff, he should find his own.'

  
  


"Oh Gerald, you know I don't mind! I would in any case prefer the underneath bunk." 'Aw, how nice of you, Pheebs. Letting Geraldo get his own way...'

  
  


"Um, which one are you going to sleep on, Phoebe?" 'Oh Arnold... your voice soothes me so...'

  
  


"Probably on the bunk underneath He-"

  
  


"Wait just a minute!" 'Geraldo, why did you interrupt Phoebe? You could have at least waited until she finished talking... how I want to strangle you so badly!!'

  
  


"What is it, Gerald?" 'Yeah, what is it, Geraldo?'

  
  


"How about you sleep on the one underneath my bunk? I mean, I'm sure you'd be more safe there..." 'Wow, hold up there, Geraldo. She can defend herself, and if she can't we're all in the same room, so, DOI!'

  
  


"Oh, I get it." 'Arnold, you sound amused...' "I guess I'll sleep on the bunk under Helga... as long as she doesn't snore..." 'As long as I don't snore!? When has he ever heard me snore?'

  
  


"Oh, don't worry, Arnold, Helga doesn't snore." 'Thanks for clearing that one up, Pheebs.'

  
  


"Oh, ok." she heard Arnold sit down on the bunk underneath her. 

  
  


Arnold pulled back the blankets, then pulled his boots off, then his coat. He settled down into the bed, and said, "Well, goodnight." and closed his eyes.

  
  


"Goodnight." he heard Phoebe, Gerald, AND Helga all reply. His eyes opened, and he looked up at the bunk above him, with a confused look. Then he closed his eyes again, and fell right into a deep sleep.

  
  


4 hours later, Helga was awake again. She sighed, and pulled her locket out of her shirt, smiling. "Oh Arnold..." she murmured, closing her eyes and bringing the locket close to her heart. She sighed again, opened her eyes, and brought the locket up so she could look at it again. She rolled over, with the locket still in her right hand, her hand hang over the side of the bunk. She closed her eyes, and soon, she was asleep again. Her grip on the locket began to slowly loosen, and the locket fell to the floor.

  
  


That morning, Arnold was the first to wake. He yawned, stretched, and sat up, hitting his head against the top bunk. He looked at it, frowning. He rubbed the top of his head with his hand, as he rolled out of the bed, so his feet were on the floor. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked down to the floor. He had felt something cold on the floor, and there, under his foot, was a golden locket with his picture in it. He picked it up, and then looked up to see Helga's hand hanging over the side of the bed. His eyebrows shot up, and his eyes widened.

  
  


"Huh!?" he exclaimed, looking back to the locket, and then back up to Helga's hand. He pulled his coat on, and slid the locket into one of his pockets. He looked back up to her hand, then it clicked. The overreacting to what he had said that night, the locket with his picture in it, her hatred for Lila. It all made perfect sense. "She likes me." he said, smirking. "But if she kept it a secret that was so well hidden, then she must not want me to know yet. So I won't tell her I know." he reached into his pocket, pulled out the locket, and placed it into her hand. 

  
  


He pulled on his boots, then put the belt and his ARM back around his waist, and began to walk out the door. Before he walked out the door, he heard someone clapping. He turned around, to see Gerald sitting up in his bed, with his legs crossed, clapping. "Good job figuring out, man." he said to his best friend, and jumped off the top bunk onto the floor. Arnold looked to Helga, then back to Gerald, his smirk now a half-smile.

  
  


"Yeah. I should have known this earlier, though. It was so obvious, now that I think about it." he said, laughing. He looked back over to Helga, to see her sit up and stretch, yawning, and then drop the locket, making him laugh again. "Hey Helga, you might want to try not to drop that locket. You could possibly break it, and I don't think you'd want to do that." he said, and Helga looked to him with a look of horror, that she tried to hide.

  
  


"Did I drop it last night?" she asked, trying not to sound in a panic. Arnold debated with himself about it for a few minutes. If he told her that she did drop it, then she'd know he knew her secret. And if he told her that she didn't drop it, that would mean that he was telling a lie. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to think it over. Then he decided.

  
  


He sighed, and shrugged. "No." he said, afraid that she wouldn't buy it. She smiled, then jumped off the bed and snatched the necklace up, glancing quickly at Arnold, making sure he didn't see that it was his picture in the pendant. He smiled at her, and she scowled her normal scowl back. He figured it must be her way of hiding her feelings.

  
  


"Well, you better stay away from my stuff, head boy." she said, sticking her tongue out at him, then grabbing her jacket and pulling it on. She grabbed her boots, plopped down on the ground, and began to tie them. Arnold sighed, then turned and walked out the door, thinking about Helga's crush on him.

  
  


He walked out of the inn, and looked around, to see Maya's group come walking into the town. His eyes widened, and he began backing up towards the door of the inn. "Uhh..." he continued to back up to the doorway, until he bumped into someone, who had just walked out of the inn. He looked behind him, then up, to see Helga's scowling face.

  
  


"What is it, football head?" she asked, and Arnold stood up straight, motioning towards Maya's group, who was walking towards the inn at that very moment. When Helga saw them, she gasped, then grabbed Arnold's wrist (which sent chills up her spine), and ran inside and up the stairs into their room, slamming the door behind them. Arnold looked out the window, to see the Schroedingers walk in the front door. 

  
  
  
  


"Well, looks like we can't leave yet." said Arnold, looking back to the others. Phoebe and Gerald looked at them curiously. Arnold sighed, and shook his head, motioning downwards. "Maya, Todd, Alfred, and Shady are downstairs. Most likely getting a room." he said, looking back out the window. "Either we could stay here or, since there isn't any vacancy, we could leave and they could have our room." he said, looking to Helga who nodded her head.

  
  


"Let's do the second one you mentioned." she said, opening the door. They all walked downstairs, hiding their faces from the others. As they passed the counter, where Maya was arguing with the person behind the counter, Helga (disguising her voice) said to the person behind the counter, "They can have our room." and then tossed the key to Maya, who was looking at her with wide eyes.

  
  


"You're those one Drifters!" she exclaimed, making Helga flinch, and look to the others, who were also flinching. They uncovered their faces, and turned to the other team. Maya laughed, and shook her head. "I figured I'd see you again, but not so soon!" she said, shaking her head, and sighing. Helga rolled her eyes, and looked back to Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold who were staring at Maya.

  
  


Helga turned back to Maya, and crossed her arms. "Yeah, yeah, we were just leaving." she said, turning back to the door, and motioning for her comrades to follow her. They began walking in that direction, until they heard Maya say something, making Helga spin around and face her again. "What was that?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. Maya was smirking.

  
  


"Are you heading to get the Aquelite and Germatron energy crystals? If you are, forget it. We're going to get there first, and get the crystals before you even have a chance to say 'hey!'" she said, flipping her hair with her hand. Helga blinked, then looked back to her companions, who shrugged. She looked back to Maya, and nodded her head.

  
  


"Yeah, as a matter of fact, we are. And you're wrong, we're gonna get there first!" she challenged, pointing at herself with her thumb, and smirking. Arnold tapped her shoulder, but she just shrugged his hand off. "Just a minute, head boy." she spat at him, turning her head to him then back to Maya, who was raising an eyebrow at Helga. She straightened back up, and smirked at Maya. "What do you and your pathetic team say to that?"

  
  


"I say that you can't possibly get there before we do. I bet you don't even know where it is!" she smirked, and placed her hands, that were curled into fists, on her hips. Helga let out a single 'ha!' then motioned for the others to follow her out the door. As they were walking out the door, Arnold looked back to Maya's team, to see them lazily walking up the stairs to their room. He turned back forward, just in time to stop himself from running into Helga.

  
  


"Whoa!" he said, waving his arms in circles to keep his balance. He backed up a little bit, his face getting a slight tinge of pink to it. When he was completely backed away, he stood straight up, scratching the back of his head, chuckling. "Sorry about that, Helga." he apologized, shrugging, and looking down at the ground. He didn't receive and answer right away, so he looked up into the eyes of Helga.

  
  


"It's fine, football head, just don't get so close next time." she said, turning around, and climbing onto her horse. After Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald were all on their horses, Arnold was still standing on the ground. "Um, we're leaving, football head. You can get on your horse any time. Or if you'd prefer, you can walk." Helga snickered, covering her mouth with her fingertips. Arnold's face flushed again, and he climbed up onto his horse, hoping no one else saw his pink face. But Gerald did, and he was snickering under his breath.

  
  


Once they were all on their horses, they took off on the journey to look for Virginia's team. All of them had separate thoughts. 'Man Arnold is cute in that outfit.' and thoughts like that were Helga's thoughts. 'Why would Helga have a crush on me?' and thoughts like that were Arnold's thoughts. 'I can't believe Gerald likes me like I like him...' and thoughts like that were Phoebe's thoughts. 'I'm going to have to start playing matchmaker... all I have to do is ask Phoebe to help me.' and thoughts like that were Gerald's thoughts.

  
  


They rode to Humphry's Peak to see if Virginia's team was there. They weren't, so they began to search everywhere for them. They came to a train station, but they didn't figure they were anywhere that wasn't near there. They looked around the area near the train station, expecting to maybe see the other team. They saw unfamiliar people, some that were obviously not Drifters, and some that were obviously Drifters. But no Virginia, Jet, Clive, or even Gallows. Well, at least they knew that it would be hard to miss Jet, because of his silver hair and violet eyes.

  
  


They all looked around, every once and a while glancing at each other. "Well, where are they!?" Helga asked, irritable, ramming her right fist into her left palm. The others looked at her, and shrugged, showing that they didn't have any clue either. She sighed, and rested her head in her hands, shaking her head back and forth. "I guess we'll just follow them tomorrow. It's getting late. We need to get back to Little Rock before it gets too dark to see." she said, turning her horse around, with the others following suit. 

  
  


They began rushing back to Little Rock, where they would stay until the next day, when they would follow Virginia's team to another ruin.


	7. Fights and Surprises

Next chapter! Yay! And this one is going to be REALLY long... really long. This chapter has fighting, romance, and blushing! Like all the others! Ha haha. I do not own Hey Arnold! or Wild ARMs 3, and most of the things that the Wild ARMs 3 characters are saying when they aren't talking to Helga, Arnold, Phoebe and Gerald are lines from the game itself. The romance-y stuff that the WA3 characters talk about isn't in the game, though.

  
  
  
  


Helga awoke to the sound of someone reloading his (Phoebe doesn't have an ARM, so she can't reload it, so it's either Arnold or Gerald) ARM. She sat up, yawned, and stretched, patting her mouth with her right hand. She glanced below the upper bunk to see Arnold reloading his ARM. "Mornin' football head. Sleep well?" he glanced up at her, and flashed her a quick smile before looking back down to his ARM.

  
  


"Yep. You?" he asked, then placed his ARM into the belt around his waist, pulled on his coat, and then pulled on his boots. Helga sighed, her face contorting into a lovesick look. Arnold stood up, and turned around to her, making her face contort back into one of her usual looks (no, this time not a scowl... more like a bored look).

  
  


"Yeah, like a baby," she answered, then sat up and turned around so her feet were dangling off the top bed. She glanced over to Gerald and Phoebe's beds to see that both were empty. "Huh, looks like the two lovebirds are off doing something. Where are they? Did they tell you?" she asked, dropping down off the bed onto her feet. Arnold glanced over to the other two bunk beds, and shrugged. 

  
  


"They didn't tell me. I think I was half asleep when they left. I remember them leaving, but I don't remember them talking about where they were going." he said, walking towards the door. Helga nodded her head while her mouth formed an o shaped, and then she sat down on Arnold's bunk, grabbing her boots so she could quickly put them on. She slipped her jacket on, and then quickly jumped up and followed Arnold out the door. She glanced around the area, and then ran the stairs and out of the inn to see Arnold standing on the porch with his arms crossed across his chest. She walked up next to him, and looked at him strangely. He looked to her, then smiled, and looked back forward. "I can't see them, but I think they're with the horses."

  
  


"Oh, and what make you so sure, Mr. Know-it-all?" she asked, crossing her arms and giving him a challenging look. He grabbed her hand, and began dragging her towards where they had left the horses the previous night, despite her protests. "Hey! What do you think you're doing, football head!? Let go!" she shouted, trying her best to get his hand off of her's. He shook his head, and looked back at her smiling.

  
  


"No, I'm not letting go, cause you'll be your normal stubborn self and just stand there." he faced forward again, and sped his pace up. She scowled deeper, and tried harder to get him to let. Shouting at him, pushing down on his hand, and even beating on his shoulder. Nothing worked.

  
  


"Come on, football head, I'll follow you! I know where the horses are, plus, we're going to be going to the horses anyway, right!?" she cried, lightly sticking her amazingly long fingers nails into Arnold's hand. He yelped, pulling his hand off of her hand, and holding it with his other hand. He looked down at his hand, then up to her, frowning. She smirked, then stuck out her tongue.

  
  


"Fine, Helga, fine! It's not like I was going to run you off a hill or something. Yeesh!" he cried, walking faster towards the horses, leaving Helga standing there, biting her lip, with a slight scowl.

  
  


"Great, Helga, you stupid girl, you are doing it again. Running him off, but even worse now, you hurt him!" she chided herself, sticking her nails into her own skin to punish herself. Her eyes widened, and she pulled her hand away from her arm. "OW, no wonder he got so ticked! I GOTTA apologize now." so she ran after him.

  
  


Soon, she reached the horses, to find that Gerald, Phoebe, and Arnold were already there, talking. She walked slowly up, and got up on her horse, then pointed the way they had came before. "Let's go back to Humphry's Peak to see if they already left." she mumbled, then turned her horse in that direction, and they took off, Helga in lead, then Phoebe, then Arnold, and in the back, Gerald. Soon, Gerald road up a little so he was right next to Phoebe, then they both slowed down so that they could still keep up, but talk privately. Arnold road up a little bit, so he was right next to Helga, but without completely realizing it. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to him, to see that he was just staring forward. She sighed, and faced forward again. "Listen Arnold, I'm sorry about digging my nails into your hand and not complying to what you were wanting. I didn't know that my finger nails had gotten longer." she said, making Arnold look at her, a smile on his face.

  
  


"It's ok, Helga. I understand." he said, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. Inside, Helga was melting at his touch, but on the outside, she looked like she was ignoring him. He gripped the reins again, and faced forward. 'Hmm, she's starting to show her feelings better, but she still has to go along with her normal attitude that hurts.' he looked down at his hand, that still had the finger nail marks on it. He cringed, then shook his head, and looked forward.

  
  


Behind Arnold and Helga, Phoebe and Gerald were having their own conversation. "So Pheebs, I was thinking."

  
  


"About what?"

  
  


"I think we need to do something to get Arnold and Helga together."

  
  


"I concur, but why do you...?"

  
  


"Why do I what?"

  
  


"Want them together. I know you think that Arnold and Lila are a better match, although you now know that Helga loves Arnold."

  
  


"Oh. Well, it's the way he acts around her. have you ever noticed how ticked he gets when she acts like her normal self? And, yesterday, when she made fun of him about not getting on his horse yet, he blushed about it."

  
  


"Yes, but it's not very much proof."

  
  


"Ok, fine, we'll wait until you see more proof, but I'm telling you, he likes Helga back."

  
  
  
  


Once they got to Humphry's Peak, they saw the other four Drifters walking out. They quickly steered their horses behind a small hill, to hide themselves. The other four quickly got onto their horses, and began riding towards the southwest. Helga motioned for the others to follow. They rode behind the others for a while, quite far behind, until they got to an old ruin of a pretty obviously important at one time building. The other four stopped their horses, and got off, heading to the building's entrance. When they were just about to head inside, suddenly a monster attacked Virginia alone. She pulled her ARMs out, aimed directly at the monster, and hit it, only a tad bit though. The monster got back up off the ground, and blew a poisonous gas at Virginia, infecting her with it.

  
  
  
  


Virginia gripped her sides, and frowned at the monster, balling her hands into fists. Suddenly, Jet came running out of the building, with his Airget-lahm (ARM, gun, whatever you want to call it, but that's it's name... Airget-lahm B/V2) in his hands. He came running at the monster, then stopped suddenly, and shot at it, getting a critical hit, which killed the monster right on. Then he walked over to Virginia and gave her a antidote, making her smile at him. He was just scowling. He walked back into the ruin, complaining about babysitting, with Virginia tagging along behind him.

  
  


Helga and the others followed the other four into the ruin, but not so they could be seen. They hid in the door and listened to the others' conversation like they had done so many times before.

  
  


"I can't believe an artifact exists in such good shape... That's pretty darn amazing!" Gallows exclaimed, looking around the ruin that looked like it had machinery all through it.

  
  


"Yeah, and I bet the security systems still up and running, too. How amazing..." Jet said cynically, rolling his eyes.

  
  


"..." Virginia sighed, and looked slightly down and to the side. Clive noticed this.

  
  


"What is the matter?" he asked, and Virginia looked up to him, with a forced smile.

  
  


"Oh... It's nothing..." she said quietly, and they began walking towards the north, where they found a set of stairs and at the bottom of the stairs a door. Helga looked back to the others, smirked, and began walking after the other four, with Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald close behind. They walked in the door at the bottom of the stairs, and quickly, Helga stopped, then backed slowly back into the doorway, so they wouldn't be noticed.

  
  


They saw Virginia's team walk into a door to the northwest, then not too long afterwards, they walked back out. They began walking towards the east where a set of stairs were, until Virginia stopped, and looked towards the door that Helga and the others were standing in. Helga backed up a little, noticing the confused look Virginia gave them. She then shrugged, muttering about how she thought that she had seen something. Her team walked up the stairs and into a door that was at the top of the stairs. Quickly, Helga motioned for the others to follow her, then they quickly chased after Virginia's team. When they got into the room, they did the same thing they had done before.

  
  


The room they were in now had a giant furnace in the middle of it, that wasn't turned on. Virginia stepped onto this large square button in front of the furnace's face, then turned to where the furnace had opened, and threw several Tindercrests into it, starting a fire. She walked off the button, and they continued out a door that was on the opposite side of the room as the other door. The others followed them, yet again.

  
  


They walked into a room that had a metal net like thing hanging across the ceiling so that they could climb across and get to a couple of treasure chests. They watched as Virginia, then Jet, then Clive, and then Gallows climbed across to the chests. They opened them, then quickly jumped down off the ledge onto the ground below them, and out the door. Helga walked out of the doorway, and over to where she was underneath the metal net. She placed her hands on her hips, and frowned, looking up at the thing above her. "We have to climb across this? Why don't we just jump down there onto the ground so we can follow them more quickly?" she inquired, as Arnold walked over, shaking his head. She looked down at him, crossed her arms, and raised an eyebrow at him. "And just why not? I AM the leader of this group, aren't I?"

  
  


"Yes, you are, but I was just thinking, if we climb across it, then we'll be more used to it for when we absolutely are forced to do it." he said, jumping and grabbing a hold of the metal net thing. He looked down at her, and smiled. "Come on, what do ya' say, Helga? Wanna get used to it?" he asked, and she shook her head stubbornly.

  
  


"Nuh uh. No climbing for me, thank you very much." she walked over to the edge of the ledge, and just before she was about to jump, she felt a hard tap on the shoulder. She looked behind herself to see that Arnold had climbed over that way, and had tapped her with his foot. She sighed, then rolled her eyes, and walked over so that she was under an area that neither Phoebe, Arnold, nor Gerald was on (Phoebe and Gerald came over and gripped onto the net-thingy), then jumped and grabbed a hold of the thing. "Fine, guys, are ya' happy? You got your LEADER to do what YOU want to do." she said, then began grumbling under her breath, climbing as fast as she could towards the other side, with the others close behind.

  
  


When they got over to the other side, they quickly jumped down, and walked out the door quickly (they figured that Virginia and her team were already in the next room by now). They walked out into the next room, and saw Virginia, Jet, Clive, and Gallows standing on a elevator, looking towards the door. Helga acted surprised (then whispered to the others to act surprised, too), and gasped. "What are you doing here?" she asked, pointing to the others. Virginia smiled and walked off the elevator.

  
  


"I knew I saw someone else in that door back there! Hi, Helga! What are you guys doing here? We're here to get the Kizim Fire to deliver it to the Arc of Destiny." she said, walking closer. Helga looked back to the others, who gave her a look that said 'no, we're not here to get that thing she mentioned.' She shrugged at them, then looked back at Virginia, and gave her a shrug.

  
  


"We're just here to get some of the extra stuff left behind in here. We didn't even know about that Kiziwhatsit that you're talking about." she said, making Virginia nod her head, and then walk back to her team, who were still standing on the elevator. Helga motioned for the other 3 to follow her onto the elevator, then she walked onto it, with the others behind her.

  
  


"I hope you don't mind if we follow not far behind." Phoebe said, and Virginia smiled wider.

  
  


"Of course we don't mind, do we?" she asked her teammates, who shook their heads, except Jet. He just stood there, with his arms crossed. She giggled at Jet, then looked back at the others. "Don't mind Jet, he's just antisocial." she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, to see that he didn't have much of a different look on his face. In fact, she was positive that he hadn't even moved a smidgen. She walked over to the elevator's control panel, and clicked the down button (no, it doesn't have numbers, it just has up and down).

  
  
  
  


Once they were at the bottom level, they noticed another one of those metal nets hanging over a small platform, and a rusted old button below the metal net. Virginia's team went over and got onto the metal net, then Virginia climbed over so that she was right over the rusted button, and dropped down onto it, opening a door, which was behind a block. Arnold walked over to the block, and pulled on it, but nothing happened. He looked up to Virginia's team, then noticed a door above the metal net thing. He pointed at it, making everyone look up at it. Clive climbed over to the edge of the metal net, and swung himself up so that he was standing on the net. He walked in the door, and about ten minutes later, he came down in the elevator. The others looked at him strangely, and he just shrugged.

  
  


Clive slipped on a pair of glowing gloves, that shocked everyone, and picked the block up, placing it beside the door. They walked in that door to come into a room with a complicated puzzle. They figured it out, and when they did, a door opened up at the bottom of several stairs. They walked in the door, to find another hard puzzle, but maybe not as hard as the previous one. The figured it out, and a door opened. They walked in the next door, into a room with several orange gems on the floor, which they shared, and then they walked up a long staircase into a room with a more simple puzzle in it. They figured it out, and got to go into the next room.

  
  


This room was one they had been in before, but this time they were in an area higher than the other. They walked to the left to find two treasure chests, and then walked in the next door. This room had a long stair way that lead down, and several more orange gems on the floor. They walked into the next room to find another difficult, but not impossible, puzzle. They figured it out, and walked in the door that it opened. They walked into a simple room with just a platform, stairs, and a door. They walked down the stairs, and into the door leading to the next room.

  
  


They were greeted with an orange glow. Almost all of them were shocked. Basically all but Jet and Helga. They walked towards the fire shaped artifact, and Virginia just stood staring at it with her jaw dropped. "I can't believe a flame has been crystalized." she said, almost breathlessly.

  
  


"So this is one of the energy forces which provided energy for a prehistoric culture... Quite interesting, indeed." Clive said, pushing his glasses up with his index finger.

  
  


Gallows brought his hand up and began scratching the back of his head. "Well, it's all fine and dandy that we got this thing, but does that whatchamacallit Order know how to use it? This is some pretty funky technology, you know?" he shrugged, looking at Clive, who also shrugged.

  
  


"That's ain't our concern. We're getting paid to bring this thing back, that's all." Jet said in his normal angry voice. Gallows looked over at him, and brought his hand down away from his head.

  
  


"Sheesh... Do you always have to be so frank?" Gallows asked, slightly laughing. Virginia grabbed the Kizim Fire out of the stand, then turned around and motioned for the others to follow. They all walked out the door, just in time to hear a female's voice echo from above them, on the platform.

  
  


"'The Immigrant Vessel'... A vessel said to have come from a distant land... Out of all the artifacts we know of, this one seems to have made the biggest mark." the woman said, in a very silky voice. They all looked up, and when they did, Virginia pulled her ARMs out and aimed them at the woman. The woman had purple hair that came down around her face, framing it, with a yellow hat type thing on her head, and was dressed in a robe-like gown that came down so that it covered her feet and had sleeves so long that the others couldn't even see her hands. The robe-like gown had orange, yellow, and pink splotches on the front of it.

  
  
  
  


"Melody!" she exclaimed, making the woman, who was obviously Melody, look down at her with a fire in her eyes.

  
  


"But, you're first on my agenda today. Our plans cannot be delayed any further. Your very existence is detrimental to our plans for the future." Melody stated, a scowl forming. Virginia had a scowl forming on her face as well.

  
  


"We're not going to let you toy with our future. Let alone Filgaia's!"

  
  


"What does this weakened, unsightly little planet need? It needs strength and beauty... How dare you stand there and oppose me! Come, Asgard!" Melody exclaimed, pointing at the 8 Drifters. Quickly, Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald all dashed into the room they were in before, so they could get out of having to fight. They knew that they probably would, anyway, but they wanted to try to get out of as many as possible anyway. A bright light shown out in front of Virginia's team, and a thing all in brown with a blue light on it's wrist appeared.

  
  


Helga and the other 3 watched as Virginia attacked the thing, then watched Jet attack it, then it suddenly brought the arm with the blue light up, then swung it down so fast, it split the ground, shaking the floor so that everyone against it would fall. It stopped, and stood there as stiff as a rail as Melody walked down the stairs so she was standing right next to Asgard (the thing).

  
  


"How pathetic... And above all, unsightly... Your inconsequential existence is filthy. Just like this planet... Filgaia is unsightly because it is impoverished. There is nothing more hideous and repulsive than a weakened and decayed existence." she said, and Clive looked up at her, frowning.

  
  


"What I find repulsive is your denial of an existence trying desperately to survive." he stated, pushing his glasses farther up his nose. Her jaw dropped, and she scowled even more deeply than before. This was beginning to worry Helga's team, and they were afraid they were going to have to fight.

  
  


"You dare ridicule me twice!? Then let me show you hands on, the true meaning of beauty! Show them the light, Asgard!" she shouted, obviously joining the fight.

  
  


"ROGER..." Asgard said in a deep, low, obviously robotic voice. This shocked the two teams.

  
  


"What the...? Since when does this clunker talk?" Gallows questioned, his eyes wide. 

  
  


"This ain't the time for twenty questions!... We gotta act fast or we're in for it!" Jet shouted, aiming his Airget-lahm directly at Asgard. The others followed, and soon, they began fighting again, this time with a bigger threat, because of Melody.

  
  


Virginia aimed at Melody, and when she shot, suddenly Melody turned into Asgard, and Asgard turned into Melody, shocking all of them. Melody just smirked, and pulled an Eliminate Scanner on Clive, making him fall to the ground. Now it was just Virginia, Jet, and Gallows, and the other 4 were worried that they were going to have to fight.

  
  


Not long after, Gallows fell, and Virginia walked over to Jet and shook his arm. "Jet, come on, revive them! You have the medium that can do it!" he looked over at her, and glared. She glared back, and soon Jet sighed, giving in. He did a few motions, then slammed his hand down to the ground, and Clive was consumed in a circular blue light. Gerald stared, shocked, and the others just stood there, watching. (Remember, Gerald was stuffed in the closet not long at all after they began playing, so he didn't get to see anything happen.) Soon, Clive stood up, and began fighting again.

  
  


Not long after, it was just Virginia standing once again, and the other team knew they were going to have to fight, now. Suddenly, Helga stood up, and began walking out towards Virginia, shocking her teammates. Arnold stood up, and quickly rushed over to her, grabbing her arm. She looked at him, and he gave her a clearly confused look. She half smiled, and shook her head. "I may be a bully most of the time, Arnoldo, but that doesn't mean I'm completely heartless. I can make my own decisions, thank you very much." she pulled her arm away from him, then walked up to Virginia, and whispered in her ear, "If you want to live through this fight, you might want to take your teammates, and go into the doorway my team and I hid in."

  
  


Virginia nodded her head, and quickly help her comrades into the safety of the other room. Phoebe, Arnold, and Gerald walked out to where Helga stood, their ARMs (and book) at the ready. Melody gritted her teeth, and clenched her hands into fists. "What's this?! More annoying Drifters to get in the way of our plan!? This will back our schedule up quite a bit, but that's not the point." she pulled an Eliminate Scanner on Phoebe, and she fell onto her knees, crying out in pain. Gerald looked at Phoebe with terror written all over his face, then back to Melody, with fire in his eyes. Phoebe stood up slowly, holding her stomach. Gerald stood aim, and shot his ARMs at Melody, but she did the switcho-chango again, making him hit Asgard. He roared angrily, and then felt a gentle hand touch his arm.

  
  


He looked over, to see Phoebe looked at him, shaking her head. "Just worry about defeating the golem, all right Gerald?" she command, rather then asked, and Gerald nodded his head, looking back at Melody with a flaming death look. She just smirked, annoying him much more.

  
  


Helga aimed her pistol-like arm at Asgard, and shot, but unfortunately, it didn't even scratch it. She looked down at her small ARM and snarled at it. "If only I had a large firearm, THEN maybe I could actually hurt the darn thing." she growled, tightening her grip around it, as if to squeeze any life out of it that it could possibly have. Like that was possible. It was an inanimate object, it had no life in it. Suddenly something unexpected happened, and she narrowed her eyes. It was like she remembered something, but didn't know what. She closed her eyes, put her arms together, then swung them out each side, opening her eyes. She watched in amazement as Asgard was consumed in a ball of ebony, then as it disappeared, and he fell onto his knee. Her eyes widened, and she blinked. "Wh-what did I-I just do!?" she asked herself, then looked back, to see Virginia staring in shock.

  
  


Arnold looked at Helga, also in shock. What had she just done? It was like she had lost control of herself, then suddenly... BANG, she did magic to Asgard! She stood there, then suddenly fainted, shocking them further. "Helga!" he cried out, rushing over to her. He lifted her head, and patted her cheek. He looked over, to suddenly see Asgard standing up, more angry than any of them had ever seen anyone. He spread his arms out to both sides, and a huge ball of light came down on all of them. When it passed, each of them were lying on the ground, knocked senseless.

  
  


Virginia and her teammates (they recovered) ran out, and checked their friends to see if they were still alive. They were, but just barely. They all looked up to Melody, to see her just beaming. Then before she could say anything, Asgard said, "LIMIT OVERLOAD... GENERATOR OVERHEATING..." Melody looked to him, then back to the 8. 

  
  


"If every existence had an equal and beautiful moment to shine... It is when the light of life goes out, no matter how pathetic or unsightly... The moment of death is when you shine best... Now, witness the light." she said, smirking. Just as Asgard was about to kill them all, a gun shot was heard, and Asgard stood still, sparks flying around him.

  
  


"SYSTEM DOWN... GENERATOR MALFUNCTION..." Asgard boomed, and Melody's eyes went aflame.

  
  


"Darn it! Stand by for auto recovery! Switch to scan mode!" she shouted at Asgard, just standing there. Virginia opened her eyes, and looked at the two in front of her.

  
  


"What's... going on?" she asked, then looked around, for the source of the shooting that had gone on earlier.

  
  


"Those who have not forsaken life must stand and fight!" she heard a voice boomed from the platform above Melody and Asgard. She looked up, to see a brown haired-green eyed man with a large brown hat and brown coat that came down to his feet. Her eyes widened, and she gasped.

  
  


"Huh...? Daddy...?" she breathed, staring at the man standing there. He looked down to her, his eyes looking almost full of anger.

  
  


"What are you waiting for!? The jammer bullet is only effective for a certain period! Make the most of this chance! Show me the meaning of your duel guns! Show me, Virginia!" he shouted at her, and she looked back to Asgard, her eyes aflame. She brought her ARMs up, and aimed them perfectly. The second fight began.

  
  


After a bit, they beat him, but didn't completely destroy him. Melody was outraged. She scowled, and shook her head. "No... this can't be... the wisdom of Hyades has tampered with Asgard's driver system!? We are only capable of such things. Except maybe..." she trailed off, then both her and Asgard lit up, and disappeared.

  
  


Virginia looked to the man up on the platform, to see him begin to walk away. "Wait! Uhh..." she began mumbling under her breath after the man stopped, but didn't turn around. Once he continued walking again, she scowled, and balled her hands into fists. "Say something! Why won't you talk to me!?" she shouted as he walked out the door. Tears sprung to her eyes, and she looked down at her feet. Jet looked at her out of the corner of his eyes.

  
  


"You aren't going after him? He is your..." he trailed off, and Virginia looked up, shaking her head.

  
  


"Not now... we have to deliver the Kizim Fire to our client. Right now, I'm a Drifter... not his daughter... That's all..." she trailed off, and then looked back to Helga's team, to see them standing up. "So, are you 4 al right? You took quite a fall." she said, glancing at Helga. They all nodded their heads. Helga kept her head down, staring at her hands. "So, um, Helga... why didn't you tell us you had a medium?"

  
  


"I don't," she said, looking up at them. All of them looked shocked, to say the least.

  
  


"You don't have a medium!? Then how did you...?" Gallows exclaimed, staring at her in shock. Helga shook her head, shrugging.

  
  


"I don't know! I really, really, DON'T know how I did it! All I know is that suddenly I felt like I could do that magic thing." she said, and she looked to Virginia, who looked thoughtful. She furrowed her eyebrows, and cleared her throat, making Virginia jump and look up. "What were you thinking about?" Helga asked, and Virginia shrugged.

  
  


"I was wondering if maybe... naw, if you didn't know about your power to do that before, then never mind. But what I was going to mention, was that I heard of this old magic from the stories I used to read for History in school. You probably heard about it before, though." she mentioned, and Helga looked intrigued

  
  


"No, I don't know about it. I was never taught it." she said, and realized what she was talking about must be from the first or second Wild ARMs games. Vrigina looked shocked, and scratched her head.

  
  


"Heh, I thought everybody was taught about that in History. Oh well." she looked straight at Helga, and shrugged. "It's called, 'Crest Sorcery.' If you really did have it, you would know about it, because you would have had to find a bunch of Crest Graphs and had to have gone through a bunch of schooling on it and such." she said, and Helga's eyes widened. What if this was what that was? That would mean she was a... type of Sorceress! She scratched her head, her eyes wide.

  
  


"Now that I think about it, yeah, that's what it is. It was a while ago that I learned that stuff, though." she said, grinning. Virginia and her whole team looked completely amazed. Well, all but Jet, who just raised both of his eyebrows at the news.


End file.
